A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

《希区柯克悬念故事集(软精装·典藏版)》内容简介：希区柯克对杀人狂的一段评论，很典型地表明了他对这类人的态度，他说：“人们常常认为，罪犯与普通人是大不相同的。但就我个人的经验而言，罪犯通常都是相当平庸的人，而且非常乏味，他们比我们日常生活中遇到的那些遵纪守法的老百姓更无特色，更引不起人们的兴趣。罪犯实际上是一些相当笨的人，他们的动机也常常很简单、很俗气”。
希区柯克认为人是非常脆弱的，他们经不起诱惑。