During a rural Devonian cricket match between a lunatic asylum and the local villagers, patient Alan Bates relates a story to player John Hurt and his wife Susannah York. He tells how he spent time living with aborigines and learnt the secret of a deadly shout which can kill anyone in earshot. Invited to live with the couple, Bates promptly begins to cunningly manipulate them, starting a torrid affair with York. Hurt, who's a composer, is concerned only with capturing the energy of the "shout" for his music, and will stop at nothing to get it. An intriguing psychological chiller, gripping and perfectly played. Based on a story by Robert Graves.