From a tormented orphan with a clubfoot, Philip Carey grows into an impressionable young mand with a voracious appetite for adventure and knowledge. His cravings take him to Pairs 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 experienc. Then he falls obssessively in love, embarking on a disastrous relationship that will change his life forever...