In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
A philosophy teacher restless with the need to do something with his life meets a young woman suspected of driving an artist to his death. He finds the very simple Cecilia irritating but develops a sexual rapport with her. Obsessed with the need to own and tormented by her inability to respond to him, he becomes increasingly violent in a quest he can't name - a quest that slowly begins to undermine his certainties.
Yvonne is seething when her devoted son, Michael, declares his intention to marry Madeleine, despite the latter's admitting to having an affair with a mysterious older man. At the same time, George, Michael's father, confides in Yvonne's sister, Leo, that he is in fact Madeleine's other lover. Together, they hatch a plot to end Madeleine's hopes of marriage - by threatening to reveal George's scandalous secret to his son.
Carol is a career woman determined to prove herself in a male-dominated corporate world. Her life suddenly changes when she falls in love with a carefree repairman Tonchi.
Luis Cardei is, was and will be the last "torcán" of the hundred Buenos Aires neighborhoods. Supported by the love of his family, he manages to overcome hemophilia and fulfill his dream: to be a recognized "torcán" of Buenos Aires.
Nine-year-old Nedda is a direct descendant of the Trevors, a family that can trace its roots back to the reign of King Charles I. Alas, the Trevors suffer severe financial reverses, and Nedda is yanked from the luxury of her ancestral home in Britain to be raised on New York's Lower East Side. Ten years later, the grown-up Nedda stands accused of the murder of her mother.
The Bread Factory is the scene for rehearsals of the Greek play Hecuba. But the real theatrics are outside the theater, with the town invaded by bizarre tourists and mysterious tech start-up workers. There is a new normal in Checkford, if it is even really Checkford any longer.
Daniel has been forced by his father to become a priest. After graduating, he comes to a parish in Hälsingland. During one stormy night, he seduces a young girl, Karin, and rapes her. Filled with regret, he runs out into the dark night and is struck by lightning. He loses his memory and is taken to a distant hospital to recover. Meanwhile Karin gets pregnant and has a child. Eventually Daniel comes back and when he meets Karin his memory returns.
Kings should be treated courteously! At least, that's what famous music critic Georg thinks. But he finds himself counting pennies when his chief editor suddenly fires him from the Viennese newspaper for which he has been writing for decades. While keeping his dismissal a secret from his psychotherapist wife Johanna, whose mind is occupied solely by getting pregnant, Georg begins to plot his revenge.
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl named Madeline uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
Waitress Annie has separated from her suicidal alcoholic husband, Glenn. Glenn has become an evangelical Christian, but his erratic attempts at getting back into Annie's life have alarmed her. High school student Arthur works at Annie's restaurant, growing closer to a new kid in town, Lila, after class. When Glenn and Annie's daughter go missing, the whole town searches for her, as he increasingly spirals out of control.
The story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.