While visiting her sister Stella's apartment in New Orleans in the late 1940s, Blanche DuBois, a beautiful alcoholic who embodies the virtues of the Old South, clashes with her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, a rising industrialist. As Blanche reveals the true nature of her visit to Stanley's residence, both Blanche and Stanley must face the saddening state of Southern values as well as their own life choices.