After her philandering husband dies from typhoid, the young widow Etsuko moves into the household of her father-in-law, where she numbly bears the old man's sexual advances. Soon she falls in love with the servant Saburo. Tormented by his indifference yet invigorated by her anguish, Etsuko makes one last, catastrophic bid for his attention. Stunningly acute in its perceptions, excruciating in its psychological suspense, Thirst for Love is a triumph of eroticism, terror, and compassion.