In the working world of the 1950s, Tom Rath is a World War II veteran struggling to find his place in a society that expects everyone to follow a straight and successful path. With a mediocre job at an advertising company and a family life seemingly lost amid the demands of daily routines, Tom feels trapped in a labyrinth of responsibilities and expectations. Everything changes when he begins to reflect on his past, remembering a youthful lover who resonates in his memory as a life of choices not taken.
As he faces this existential crisis, the pressure of his job intensifies. Tom is forced to grapple with the complexities of business ethics and unchecked ambition, putting at risk not only his career but also his marriage to a wife who expects more from him. Amid the struggles of his daily life and personal longings, Tom begins to question the true meaning of success and whether it is really worth sacrificing his happiness for social status.
As he delves deeper into his own desires and frustrated dreams, Tom must navigate a difficult path, confronted with the dilemma between familial commitment and his own aspirations. His journey leads him to reconsider what it means to be a successful man in an era of conformity, facing both the pressure of the outside world and his own inner demons.