In the sultry and stylish world of a 1930s New Orleans brothel, Hallie Gerard (Jane Fonda) is the main attraction for both clients and the shrewd madam, Jo Courtney (Barbara Stanwyck), who runs the Doll House with a mix of toughness and tender maternal instincts. When Dove Linkhorn's (Laurence Harvey) long-lost love from three years ago arrives in town, Hallie must choose between her life as a high-class prostitute and the prospect of married happiness - but her decision is set off by a chain of events that includes Kitty Tristram (Capucine), a young woman with a troubled past who becomes embroiled in the lives of the brothel's inhabitants.