This classic play explores the turbulent relationships within a wealthy Southern family. The main characters include an alcoholic ex-football player, his wife, and his domineering father, who is dying of cancer. The story revolves around the family's internal conflict, deceit, and denial as they grapple with the patriarch's impending death and the question of who will inherit the family's wealth. Themes of sexual desire, repression, greed, and death are prominent in this intense, emotional drama.

The play centers around the complex emotional interplay between two central characters: a high-strung, unmarried minister's daughter and a charming, unsentimental doctor's son. Set in a small town in Mississippi at the turn of the 20th century, the narrative explores themes of romantic longing, societal expectations, and the conflict between the spiritual and the physical. As the daughter grapples with her puritanical beliefs and her attraction to the doctor's son, their tumultuous relationship unfolds against a backdrop of Southern heat and repression, ultimately questioning whether true connection can be found in the convergence of the soul and the flesh.

The play is a darkly comic tale of the Magrath sisters, who reunite at their grandfather's home in Mississippi after one of them, Babe, has shot her abusive husband. The sisters are forced to confront the consequences of their own "crimes of the heart," which include loneliness, infidelity, and failure. Through sharp dialogue and poignant moments, the narrative explores themes of family dysfunction, societal expectations, and the search for personal happiness amidst the chaos of their lives. As they navigate through past resentments and present crises, the sisters ultimately find solace and strength in their sisterhood.