Helen has had her entire life dictated by the people and machines around her. A life without love, strictly prearranged in accordance with the rules that society expects a woman to obey. A machine like life. In the end her despair leads her to crime.Based on a real life case, which shocked the American society in the early 20th century, Machinal, describes the life and the tragic end of Helen, a woman trying desperately to resist the life that others expect her to live.