judah, a respectable family man, is having an affair with flight attendant dolores paley (anjelica huston). after it becomes clear to her that judah will not end his marriage, dolores threatens to disclose the affair to judah's wife, miriam (claire bloom). she is also aware of some questionable financial deals judah has made, which adds to his stress. he confides in a patient, ben (sam waterston), a rabbi who is rapidly losing his eyesight. ben advises openness and honesty between judah and his wife, but judah does not wish to imperil his marriage. desperate, judah turns to his brother, jack (jerry orbach), a gangster, who hires a hitman to kill dolores. before her corpse is discovered, judah retrieves letters and other items from her apartment in order to cover his tracks. stricken with guilt, judah turns to the religious teachings he had rejected, believing for the first time that a just god is watching him and passing judgment.