Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), "Cry of the Owl" is the story of a troubled young man, Robert, who leaves the big city and his ex-wife for the tranquility of a small town. He finds respite from his problems by secretly watching the normal domestic life of a woman he doesn't know through her kitchen window. But when Jenny catches Robert in the act, she doesn't call the police. Instead she feels a strange empathy for Robert and invites him into her home. Robert is drawn into a relationship with Jenny, which has dire consequences when her boyfriend Greg finds out. Immediately suspicious of Robert, Greg makes it his mission to destroy him. But when a fight leaves Greg unconscious and missing, Robert discovers he is the number one suspect in a murder case that is slowly beginning to look like the ultimate set-up.