故事发生在第一次世界大战时期的爱尔兰，罗茜（莎拉·米尔斯 Sarah Miles 饰）是一个个性开朗热情奔放的女孩，她爱上了名为查尔斯（罗伯特·米彻姆 Robert Mitchum 饰）的小学校长，虽然两人的年轻相差巨大，但罗茜犹如飞蛾扑火一样的不顾一切，同查尔斯携手步入了婚礼的殿堂。
　　然而，新婚当夜，两人之间就发生了激烈的争吵。直到此时罗茜才发现，自己和查尔斯在性格上根本就不相配，但是为时已晚。之后，罗茜邂逅了少校兰德福（克里斯托弗·琼斯 Christopher Jones 饰），后者向罗茜展开了热烈的攻势，罗茜又一次坠入了情网。一连串意外的发生让罗茜成为了村子里的众矢之的，村民们将她囚禁了起来，想要给予她应受的惩罚。

　　Based on the novel by L. P. Hartley, The Hireling is a dissection of antiquated but hardly dormant British class distinctions. Chauffeur Robert Shaw is in the employ of aristocratic widow Sarah Miles. When she suffers a nervous breakdown, Shaw helps her through her recovery. They grow to love each other during the convalescence; but when she is cured, Ms. Miles refuses to regard Shaw as an equal, and the original status quo is reinstated. The Hireling provides an interesting contrast to the similarly structured American film of 1991, Driving Miss Daisy.