When a silent screen goddess died at the height of her fame, her life, death and film career intertwined to create The Legend of Lylah Clare. Now, a movie producer has found a beautiful young woman, Elsa Brinkman (Kim Novak), who looks strikingly like the late movie star. He grooms the untalented Brinkman in Clare's life, speech and mannerisms, then hires Clare's widower to direct Brinkman in a film about the star's life. But as Brinkman's personality merges with the late Clare's, passion, jealousy and unrequited love surface with startling--and deadly--results.