American engineer Steve Corey (Steve Cochran) comes to Mexico to work at one of the mining projects owned by Katherine Beckman (Merle Oberon) and her half-brother Paul (Curt Jurgen.) He meets Katherine, and the man he is replacing, Bill Maxton (Steve Brodie), tells him that Katherine is his for the asking..."all you have to do is touch her---she goes off like fireworks. There were plenty of guys before me, and there'll be plenty after me." Steve finds Katherine as advertised but he falls in love with her. Once he sees that the romance is for real, brother Paul is more than a little displeased at this turn of events and brings back one of Katherine's earlier flames, Gus Cole (John Agar), to tempt Katherine away from Steve. Half-siblings Katherine and Paul are carrying some baggage from the past it appears. Actually, it is more than appearances and Paul spells it right out before this exercise in tedium is over.

Among the wealthy socialites living in Mexico City are Katherine Beckman and her half brother, Paul. When Paul hires Steve Corey, an American engineer, to supervise the construction of some mining operations, the promiscuous Katherine lures him to her house for the night. As their affair blossoms into love, Paul becomes so jealous that he arranges for Katherine to see her former lover, Gus Cole. Although Katherine resists Gus's advances, she eventually has too much to drink and Gus forces himself upon her. When she awakens, she attempts to kill herself by slashing her wrists, but Steve arrives in time to save her. During her convalescence she explains to Steve that her behavior is an attempt to compensate for having refused to give herself to her first love, a young soldier killed during World War II. The understanding Steve persuades her to marry him and leave Mexico City. As she returns home to pack, she is confronted by Paul, who confesses his incestuous desires. Shocked by the revelation, she runs out into the night. But Steve finds her and promises her a new life.