Classic 'kitchen sink drama' from the British New Wave of the 1960s. Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey) is an ambitious young man who is tired of slaving away at his job and sets his sights on his boss's daughter, Susan, thinking she will provide a short-cut to the top. Hindered by his working class background, and frustrated by the opposition of Susan's parents, Joe seeks solace in the arms of a lonely older woman named Alice (Simone Signoret). But when he then inadvertently causes Alice's death in a road accident, Joe's whole world begins to unravel.