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 & 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, & 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.