The plot follows a newspaper salesman's dangerous obsession with a pretty young refreshments seller amidst a serial killer's spree through Cairo.

In the darkness, Qinawi does not notice the substitution; he stabs the other woman repeatedly, then hides the body in a wooden crate supposedly holding Hannuma's trousseau.

The men who stand to lose by Abu Siri's unionization at first try to pin the attempted murder on him, but the would-be victim identifies her real assailant.

[5] Upon its release in 1958, Cairo Station provoked outrage among Egyptian audiences, who were expecting "conventional melodramas and comedies that were staples of Egypt's early film industry.

"[6] According to the same review, the film's treatment of suppressed sexuality and its adverse effect on Qinawi's mental health are both highlighted by Chahine's rendering of his "antihero", as well as by the fictional context, relating closely to social and psychological problems of a society marked by violent masculinity or the repression of workers' rights.

[7] In 2002, Cairo Station was called "the highlight of the Chahine season at the National Film Theatre in London",[8] and on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it received an overall score of 100%.