A beautiful, troubled teenage girl, Debbie Strand, is being brought up by her previously estranged grandmother in Los Angeles after her mother and her mother's boyfriend die in a suspicious house fire. Her grandmother is an extremely strict, fundamentalist Christian who believes that her granddaughter is exactly like her mother. She forces Debbie to wear her mother's old clothes instead of buying her new ones, and abuses her by beating her with the grandmother's walking cane. When she tells Debbie she's putting her in a reform school, Debbie yanks her cane out of her hands and kills her with it.

Debbie becomes enthralled with Peter Rinaldi, an English teacher at her new school. However, Peter has a fiancée and strong scruples, so he rejects Debbie's repeated advances. Peter finds that his life is ruined and bodies are piling up. During the hectic climax, Debbie breaks into his fiancée, Marilyn's, home with the intention of killing her. Peter realizes Debbie has gone there and follows her. While he is on his way, Debbie confronts Marilyn, who attempts to flee through the kitchen, but is brought down by Debbie, who knocks her unconscious. As Debbie attempts to murder her, Peter rushes in and stops her. He arrives in time, saving Marilyn; however, Debbie stabs him in the shoulder. Shortly after, Peter is sent off in an ambulance and Debbie is arrested by the police.

A sequel titled Devil in the Flesh 2 was released in 2000, with actress Jodi Lyn O'Keefe replacing McGowan.

• Devil in the Flesh at IMDb  
• Devil in the Flesh at AllMovie
• Devil in the Flesh at Rotten Tomatoes