James Ivory directs this romantic period drama based on the novel by Jean Rhys. In bohemian 1920s Paris, Marya Zelli (Isabelle Adjani), a beautiful young novelist, finds herself destitute when her art dealer husband, Stephan (Anthony Higgins) is sent to prison for theft. A rich patron, H.J. Heidler (Alan Bates), and his artist wife, Lois (Maggie Smith), offer to take Marya in for the duration of Stephan's incarceration. Heidler, a shameless philanderer with a history of taking advantage of helpless young women, soon seduces Marya - while Lois painfully accepts his infidelity.