故事发生在1660年的法国,国王路易(理查德·查伯兰 Richard Chamberlain 饰)整日沉湎于酒色之中,无心朝政,使臣民们生活在水深火热之中。路易有一个孪生弟弟名为菲利普(理查德·查伯兰 Richard Chamberlain 饰),史书中记载的菲利普刚刚出生便已夭折,可实际上,他被偷偷送往阿尔卑斯山的一个庄园中,隐姓埋名,生长在此。 国王的昏庸让内务大臣科贝尔(拉尔夫·理查德森 Ralph Richardson 饰)和火枪手队长达达尼昂(路易斯·乔丹 Louis Jourdan 饰)感到大为不满,他们决定找到菲利普,扶持他推翻哥哥的统治,登上王位。贪婪的财政大臣富凯(帕特里克·麦高汉 Patrick McGoohan 饰)早先一步找到了菲利普,他和国王一起设计,给菲利普带上铁面,投入了深牢之中。
Boozy, brassy Apple Annie, a beggar with a basket of apples, is as much as part of downtown New York as old Broadway itself. Bootlegger Dave the Dude is a sucker for her apples --- he thinks they bring him luck. But Dave and girlfriend Queenie Martin need a lot more than luck when it turns out that Annie is in a jam and only they can help Annie's daughter Louise, who has lived all her life in a Spanish convent, is coming to America with a Count and his son. The count's son wants to marry Louise, who thinks her mother is part of New York society. It's up to Dave and Queenie and their Runyonesque cronies to turn Annie into a lady and convince the Count and his son that they are hobnobbing with New York's elite.
米里亚姆(马蒂娜·戈黛特 Martina Gedeck 饰)拥有一个幸福的家庭,和丈夫安德鲁(彼得·达沃 Peter Davor 饰)之间相互信任,亲密无间;和儿子尼尔斯(Lucas Kotaranin 饰)更是彼此理解,无话不谈。 某日,尼尔斯将自己的女友利维亚(Svea Lohde 饰)带回老家度假,很快,米里亚姆就发现利维亚和一位名叫比尔(罗伯特·西利格 Robert Seeliger 饰)的男子之间似乎有着超越了友谊的亲密关系。好奇心的驱使之下,米里亚姆开始接近比尔,哪知道竟然也被比尔身上所散发出来的温文尔雅的气质所吸引,她和利维亚之间竟然变成了情敌关系。人是无法控制自己的心的,即便知道这种感情是无望和不道德的,但米里亚姆还是在漩涡里越陷越深。