A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

A rich woman and a calculating insurance agent plot to kill her unsuspecting husband after he signs a double indemnity policy. Against a backdrop of distinctly Californian settings, the partners in crime plan the perfect murder to collect the insurance, which pays double if the death is accidental.

Two men murder a man in cold blood for the thrill and invite his parents over for a celebration to prove they have committed the perfect crime, but they also have to deal with their former schoolmaster, who becomes suspicious.

An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to have his wealthy wife murdered after discovering she is having an affair, and assumes she will soon leave him for the other man anyway.