Shame is a film about a brother and sister, both fighting depression and searing shame in different ways, through their sexual addiction. The brother is isolated, alone and confines his sexual life to Internet pornography and prostitutes. The sister tries desperately through her sexuality to find a man who will take care of her. A backstory derived from the longitudinal research of Ogawa and Lyons-Ruth is constructed to depict their early attachment experiences with their parents that would lead to their adult pathology. The dynamics of their adult struggles are viewed through the lens of Lichtenberg's, Kohut's, and Kernberg's theories.