From a tormented orphan with a clubfoot, Philip Carey grows into an impressionable young man with a voracious appetite for adventure and knowledge. His cravings take him to Paris at age eighteen to try his hand at art, then back to London to study medicine. But, even so, nothing can sate his nagging hunger for experience. Then he falls obsessively in love with a waitress, embarking on a disastrous relationship that will change his life forever....

Julia is a true diva: beautiful, talented, wealthy and famous. She has a devoted husband who has masterminded her brillant career - but after years of the spotlight she begins to suffer from a severe case of boredom and longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye. She finds what she is looking for in a handsome young American fan, who adds a few more sparks than Julia was hoping for

Set in the 1920s. A young English couple, Walter a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman, get married for all the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai. Kitty falls in love with someone else. When Walter discovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China that is being ravaged by a deadly epidemic. He takes his wife along and their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them...