Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) is the lawyer who testifies against Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) to put him away in prison for 8 years. But when he is released, he seeks revenge on Sam by bothering his family. Sam's wife Peggy (Polly Bergen) and teenage daughter Nancy (Lori Martin) are his targets because they are what Sam values most in his life. Because Sam is a lawyer, he tries the legal system to stop his harassments but, because Max studied the law while in prison, he is able to find a way out of every entanglement. When the law can't protect him, Sam takes the advice of the the local police chief (Martin Balsam) and hires a private detective (Telly Savalas) to watch his family and step outside the law to protect them. When those efforts fail, Sam removes his wife and daughter to their houseboat on the river only to find that Max follows them and traps them in their refuge. It becomes a battle between two men when no one else can help Sam and his family find security from Max.