With the aid and powers of the titan Prometheus, Will Rock rampages through Lost Olympus, seeking the safe return of his love, Emma, and revenge for the murder of his mentor, Dr. Headstrong. Prometheus, fusing his spirit into Will's able body, seeks to wage a bloody vendetta against the god Zeus, who robbed him of physical form long ago. Half mortal, half Titan, Will Rock will stop at nothing short of toppling the pillar of the gods to wreak vengeance of mythic proportions, and to save a terrified woman in the name of love. They don't have much time, though on the eve of the next thunderstorm, Zeus will be able to take a new wife and this time his sights are set on a mortal: Emma Headstrong.

His birth was a long-awaited legend full of mystery and promise, among the outlaw Juska tribes along the western shore. Denoted by a unique mark on his right paw, the Taggerung is a fearsome fighter (In the story, the word 'Taggerung' literally means a warrior of unbeatable strength, courage, and savagery), a warrior the likes of which has not been seen for many seasons.(Sawney Rath's father was the most recent). When a seer from one tribe predicted his birth at Redwall Abbey, Sawney Rath, leader of the Juskarath, sets out to capture the Taggerung.

In Mossflower Woods, Rillflag an otter from Redwall is completing a birth ritual with his newborn son, Deyna, when Sawney Rath and his tribe of vermin ambush him. Vallug Bowbeast, a deadly ferret archer of the Juska Tribe murders Rillflag and captures the legendary infant. Sawney renames the young otter Zann Juskarath Taggerung or "Tagg" for short, determined to raise him as his own son, and to bring the Taggerung under his control.

. As Tagg begins to grow older, he finds himself at odds with his fellow tribe members. He refuses to become violent and soon finds himself as the only member of the tribe who has never killed for fun, or at all. When Sawney orders him to skin a runaway fox named Felch, Tagg refuses, enraging Sawney. Finding the roles reversed, Tagg flees and finds himself pursued by the ferret leader of the Juskarath.

Unfortunately for Rath, his chase is short-lived, as he is soon murdered by the ambitious stoat Antigra with a slingstone. Antigra hates Sawney Rath because she wishes her son, Gruven to be named as the Taggerung, and because of that, Sawney Rath had murdered her husband. Sawney's death enables her bumbling son Gruven Zann to take control of the newly renamed Juskazann tribe. The vixen seer Grissoul tells Gruven he must hunt down the former Taggerung and bring back his head. Only then will some other ambitious Juska warriors accept him as their leader. To aid him in his quest, Gruven recruits a small band of vermin including Vallug Bowbeast, the deadly assassin, and Eefera, a high-ranking weasel, to continue the hunt for the Taggerung. Unfortunately for Gruven, his band of vermin would rather kill him than follow his orders, if only the opportunity presented itself. They are too accustomed to following Sawney's orders to listen to the newly appointed chief.

Tagg runs away to find a pear tree, which he eats from and is reprimanded by two voles. They decide he won't hurt them and invite him back to their home to eat stew and meet their nice friends. He enjoys this very much and would love to stay, but sadly, he knows that the Juskarath are chasing him. He bids them a bittersweet goodbye and sets off in a boat they give him.

In his travels, Tagg befriends a similarly mysterious (and, unlike Tagg, prone to telling lies) harvest mouse named Nimbalo the Slayer, by saving him from a deadly snake from the mountains. Finding themselves in the company of a pygmy shrew colony, they rest until they are attacked by Gruven and his slowly-diminishing band of vermin. Gruven and his band start a landslide, killing and burying many pygmy shrews. As Tagg chases the attackers of his newfound companions, the vermin scatter, leaving only one unfortunate member behind. Under the harsh gaze of Tagg, and the threat of being thrown to the pygmy shrews who lost loved ones in the landslide, the long-time member of Rath's old tribe reveals all, including the name of Tagg's true home: Redwall Abbey.

At the same time, Eefera the weasel and Vallug Bowbeast, the most rebellious and intelligent vermin under Gruven's command, decide to desert Gruven, deciding that him and the other two remaining hordebeasts would die in the mountain. They, being better trackers than Gruven, decide to follow the Taggerung and kill him, to bring his head back to the tribe and claim leadership over the Juskas. But they are both silently trying to find an opportunity to kill the other; Vallug is the more dangerous as a killer, but Eefera is a better tracker and more cunning.

When Tagg arrives at Redwall, he's mistaken for one of the members of the band of Juska supposed to be hunting him, knocked out and locked up in the cellars. He's then released on impulse by the assistant cook Broggle when the Juska, Eefara and Vallug, who have now captured Gruven and the other vermin, are threatening to kill Nimbalo, but then their plans go wrong. Tagg goes out to fight, and slays Vallug and Eefara, at the same time getting shot with an arrow by Vallug Bowbeast while Nimbalo goes after another rat. Then, Filorn, Tagg's mother, recognises her son. Cregga Rose Eyes, the ancient blind badgermum, after being shot in the chest with an arrow, appoints Deyna's sister, Mhera, as the new Abbess of Redwall, succeeding the now deceased Abbess Songbreeze, and then dies shortly after. Rukky Garge, a local otterfixer, manages to remove the distinguishing mark of the Taggerung from Deyna's paw, remove his tattoos, and remove the arrow.

Deyna's quest is not quite over, however, as the fox Ruggan Bor, now commanding the remnants of the Juskazann tribe as well as followers of his own, the Juskabor, shortly arrives to attack the stronghold of Redwall Abbey. Due to Gruven's bragging on his return, they now believe the Taggerung is dead and seek to confirm this rumour. As chance may have it, however, the badger ruler of Salamandastron, Russano the Wise, arrives in time to fend off Bor's attack, sending him and his vermin crew crawling on their bellies off into the sunset. Russano then takes a medal from around his neck and drapes it over Cregga Rose Eyes's grave, as she was his adoptive mother many seasons before this terrible battle happened. This had been his reason for travelling to Redwall in the first place.

The wandering Noonvale companions travel to Redwall, where they wish to mount a show. On the way, however, they learn that the Marlfoxes will attempt to seize Redwall, and hasten onward to warn them, while Guosim from another part of Mossflower do the same.

The Marlfoxes consist of High Queen Silth and her brood. They are different from other foxes in their fur, which gives them the ability to blend into almost any surrounding, invisible to all but the keenest eye. This ability has given rise to the false rumour that the Marlfoxes are magic, which they are not. However, Marlfoxes are highly agile and skilled with axes.

Castle Marl, home of the Marlfoxes, is situated in the middle of an enormous inland sea, on the island that was once home to Badger Lord Urthwyte the Mighty. The Marlfoxes command a vast army of water rats, and they travel around the country seeking rare and priceless artifacts.

The Marlfoxes, backed by an army of water rats, mount a successful invasion of Redwall and steal the tapestry of the long dead hero, Martin the Warrior. The Marlfox Ziral is slain, however, and the remaining Marlfoxes swear revenge on the citizens of Redwall.

Mokkan, one of the Marlfoxes, escapes with the tapestry, leaving his siblings behind. Three young Redwallers, Songbreeze Swifteye, Dannflor Reguba, and a Guosim shrew named Dippler set out after Mokkan, trying to retrieve the tapestry. They meet Burble, a water vole, and have many adventures and meet many friends who help them on their journey, such as the gigantic hedgehog Sollertree, who lost his daughter Nettlebud to the Marlfoxes and water rats, and the Mighty Megraw, a large osprey who used to live by the Marlfox island but was driven away in an ambush by magpies.

Meanwhile, the remaining Marlfoxes lay siege to Redwall. After a series of battles, Songbreeze's father Janglur Swifteye, Dannflor's father Rusvul Reguba, Cregga Rose Eyes, and many others fight off the remaining army, killing the remaining Marlfoxes and restoring peace to Redwall. The surviving rats are divided into eight groups, with each group sent in a different direction.

Song, Dann, Dippler and Burble meet some new friends and set out into the great lake to the island. Mokkan finds that Silth has been killed by one of his sisters, Lantur. He promptly kills her by pushing her into the lake full of pike, proclaiming himself King. However, the companions arrive and overthrow the water rat army. Mokkan escapes in a boat, but an escaped slave, whom we find out is Nettlebud, throws a chain at him and knocks him into the lake, where he is eaten by pike.

The surviving water rats are left on the island to become peaceful creatures and farm the land, and the companions return home to Redwall, where Songbreeze Swifteye is named Abbess and Dannflor Reguba is named Abbey Champion by Cregga Rose Eyes, Redwall's blind badgermum. Dippler is named Log-a-log, and Burble is named Chief of the Watervoles.

At the end of the novel is a note, stating that the entire tale was made into a drama, edited by one Florian Dugglewoof Wilffachop.

Slagar the Cruel

''Mattimeo'' is a direct sequel to ''Redwall ''and'' Mossflower'', taking place eight seasons (two years) after the events of the first novel. The peaceful woodland creatures of Redwall Abbey are busy preparing for a feast during the summer equinox. Matthias and Cornflower have had a son named Mattimeo, who has been generally spoiled throughout his life by the inhabitants of Redwall. Meanwhile, the masked fox Slagar the Cruel and his gang of slavers are planning to enter Redwall Abbey during one of their feasts. Slagar, a villainous fox craving revenge for a crime never committed against him, intends to capture slaves from Redwall and take them to an underground kingdom ruled by a mysterious, god-like figure named Malkariss to be sold as slaves. After drugging the Abbey residents, he kidnaps Mattimeo, Tim and Tess Churchmouse, Cynthia Bankvole, and Sam Squirrel. They meet Auma, (a young badger maid) and Jube, (a hedgehog), who were also kidnapped by Slagar the Cruel. Upon discovering the children missing, Matthias, Basil Stag Hare and Jess Squirrel with the help of a few friends, leave the Abbey to hunt down Slagar and return the children back home. They encounter Cheek, an ottercub Matthias describes as "Cheek both by name and by nature".

US cover of ''Mattimeo'' On their journey, they meet up with Orlando the Axe, the father of Auma, and Jabez Stump, the father of Jube. As they journey, they find the Guerrilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower (Guosim), and convince them to aid the travellers on their quest.

General Ironbeak

Meanwhile, at the Abbey, a horde of rooks, magpies, and crows led by General Ironbeak have come to conquer it. They instantly capture most of Redwall, starting from the top and working their way down. Then, Baby Rollo, Cornflower and Mrs. Churchmouse get kidnapped by the rooks, but the remaining Abbeydwellers manage to capture the Magpie brothers Quickbill, Diptail and Brightback with drugged strawberries, courtesy of Sister May. When the magpies went to forage for food for Ironbeak's crew, they ate the strawberries. The two forces then negotiate a hostage exchange. After that, the Abbey's residents take refuge in a basement called Cavern Hole, stocked with many supplies. Then Cornflower has an idea to dress up as a ghost and scare the rooks; they succeed, but General Ironbeak doesn't fall for the trick. He traps Constance in the gatehouse, then slips his army through the barricade.

Malkariss

After a long journey up cliffs, fighting a horde of archer rats, and crossing a desert and a gorge, Matthias's gang finally arrive at the underground kingdom of Malkariss, where Slagar has been trading his slaves. There, the heroes fight the massive army of rats, while Matthias frees the slaves held there and is reunited with his son. Then while they fight Matthias fights a large fiend called the Wearet and is thrown off a walkway into a pit where he confronts Malkariss who is revealed to be an ancient and somewhat repulsive polecat. Malkariss is about to kill Matthias with his own sword when the tyrant's slaves appear and destroy their master by pelting him with the stones and rocks which they had been using to build. Matthias frees the slaves and a great battle ensues during which Malkariss' kingdom is destroyed and his minions defeated. Later, Slagar reappears and kills Vitch, a rat slaver he worked with. Matthias and Orlando attempt to kill Slagar, who flees, only to plunge to his death down a well shaft.

The company return to Redwall after Stryk Redkite kills Ironbeak and his seer Mangiz and the woodlanders of Redwall send off the remaining ravens with iron collars around their necks.

The book ends with the residents of Redwall celebrating with a feast. Father Abbot declared the season Autumn of the Warriors' Return. The epilogue reveals that Tim had since become the abbey recorder (in an extract from his diary). Tess and Mattimeo had married, and Basil officially adopted Cheek (now bearing the title Cheek Stag Otter).

In the last two days of 1999, Los Angeles has become a dangerous war zone. As a group of criminals robs a Chinese restaurant, the event is recorded by a robber wearing a SQUID, an illegal electronic device that records memories and physical sensations directly from the wearer's cerebral cortex onto a MiniDisc-like device for playback. Lenny Nero, a former LAPD officer turned black marketeer of SQUID recordings, buys the robbery clip from his main supplier, Tick. Elsewhere, a prostitute named Iris, who is a former friend of Lenny's ex-girlfriend Faith Justin, is being chased by LAPD officers Burton Steckler and Dwayne Engelman. Iris escapes on a subway car, but Engleman pulls off her wig, revealing a SQUID recorder headset.

Lenny pines for Faith and relies on emotional support from his two best friends: bodyguard and limousine driver Lornette "Mace" Mason and private investigator Max Peltier. Mace has unrequited feelings for Lenny from when he was still a cop and stepped in as a dependable father figure for her son after her boyfriend was arrested on drug charges, but disapproves of his SQUID-dealing business. While Lenny and Max are drinking together at a bar, Iris drops a SQUID disc through the sunroof of Lenny's car before it is towed away. Mace picks Lenny up and takes him to a nightclub where Faith is going to sing. There, Lenny receives a SQUID disc from a contact and unsuccessfully tries to get Faith away from her new boyfriend, Philo Gant. Gant is a music industry mogul who managed the recently-slain rapper Jeriko One.

While in the car with Mace, Lenny plays the disc the contact gave him and watches Iris being brutally raped and murdered by an attacker at the Sunset Regent hotel. As they approach the hotel, Iris is taken out on a stretcher. The next day, they take the disc to Tick, who cannot identify the source of the recording, but recalls that Iris was looking for Lenny. Mace deduces that Iris may have left something in Lenny's car, and the two go to the impound and find Iris's disc. Steckler and Engleman appear and demand the disc at gunpoint, but Lenny and Mace escape in her car before being forced to stop at a dock. Steckler pours gasoline on the car and sets it on fire, but Mace drives it into the harbor, extinguishing the flames. When they reach the surface, the cops have left.

Mace takes Lenny to her brother's house and they watch Iris's disc, showing Iris was with Jeriko One when Steckler and Engleman pulled him over and murdered him because his anti-police lyrics and activism incited protests against the LAPD. The two return to Tick, whom Max reveals has been rendered brain-dead from forceful exposure to amplified SQUID signals. Lenny fears Iris's attacker covered his tracks by "killing" Tick and will come after Faith. Back at the nightclub, Lenny and Mace confront Faith, who reveals that Philo is afraid Iris's disc would reveal that he kept his artists under surveillance. Lenny and Mace disagree over whether to trade the disc to Philo for Faith's freedom or release it publicly, which could incite a citywide riot. As midnight approaches, Lenny and Mace sneak into a private party that Philo is hosting at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel for the city's wealthy elite. Lenny has a change of heart and tells Mace to give the disc to deputy police commissioner Palmer Strickland.

In Philo's penthouse suite, Lenny finds Philo brain-dead on the floor and another disc, revealing that Max and Faith are lovers, and that Max "fried" Philo's brain with an amplified recording of them feigning rape. Faith explains to Lenny that Philo hired Max to kill Iris, but when Philo wanted Faith dead as part of the coverup, Max decided to frame Lenny for the murders. Lenny and Max struggle in a fight, which culminates with Lenny throwing Max off the balcony to his death. Meanwhile, on the crowded streets, Mace subdues Steckler and Engelman but other officers take down Mace. Strickland arrives and orders Mace be released and Steckler and Engelman arrested for murder. Engelman commits suicide; Steckler threatens Mace, but the officers gun him down. The officers arrest Faith; Lenny finds Mace and the two share a kiss as the crowd celebrates the turn of the new millennium.

The Seventh Doctor and Ace arrive at a British naval installation near Maiden's Point on the Northumberland coast during World War II. The base contains a supply of nerve gas and the Ultima supercomputer used by Dr. Judson to decode German messages as well as Viking runes in the catacombs. The runes warn of Fenric, whom the Doctor recognizes as a being that can control his "wolves", individuals manipulated by his powers. The Doctor and Ace find a covert Russian squad attempting to steal Ultima. As Ace becomes smitten with their leader Captain Sorin, the Doctor warns them to lay low.

Exploring the catacombs, the Doctor and Ace find a glowing Oriental vase among the Viking treasures, which is confiscated by the base commander Millington and given to Judson to study. As Judson places it within Ultima, he is struck by electricity and taken over by the spirit of Fenric. Fenric calls out to the Ancient One, a Haemovore in the nearby sea, who leads an army of Haemovores to attack the base and local residents, turning them into Haemovores. Ace warns Kathleen, a WRNS, to escape with her newborn child, Audrey.

The Doctor sets up a chess problem, hoping to distract Fernic long enough to find a permanent solution to stop him. Sorin arrives and tries to kill Fenric but learns he is one of his wolves, a descendant of the Vikings that brought the Oriental vase here. Ace arrives, sees Sorin studying the chess board, and offers the solution. The Doctor arrives too late as Sorin reveals himself as Fenric, commanding the Ancient One to attack the Doctor. A psychic barrier created by Ace's trust in the Doctor stops the Haemovore. Fenric tells Ace she is one of his wolves, having created the time storm that took her to Iceworld to meet the Doctor, and she furthered her own cycle by making sure Audrey, her mother, was safe.

Ace's faith in the Doctor is shattered, but instead of attacking, the Ancient One grabs Fenric and takes him into the gas chamber and sets it aflame. The Doctor and Ace flee the base before it explodes, killing Fenric and the Ancient One and ending the Haemovore threat. Ace takes a moment to contemplate why she hates her mother and to celebrate overcoming her irrational fear of the water, before she and the Doctor depart.

Continuity

The Doctor chants the names of his former companions to ward off the Haemovores. Most of the names he chants are inaudible, but a few can be made out, including Susan, Barbara, Vicki, and Steven, companions of the First Doctor. Ace mentions an old house in Perivale. This was originally intended as a foreshadowing of ''Ghost Light''; the resequencing of the broadcast schedule, however, altered it into an apparent reference to a past story. Similarly, the Doctor's new wardrobe for season 26 was hidden throughout part one by a long duffel coat, setting up a dramatic revelation when he removed the coat. Sylvester McCoy, however, has stated that he was given the coat to shelter from the cold weather on location, and was permitted to retain it on-screen.

Mr. Burns sits in his office awaiting the arrival of Chuckie Fitzhugh, the leader of the Springfield chapter of the "International Brotherhood of Jazz Dancers, Pastry Chefs and Nuclear Technicians" trade union, who has mysteriously disappeared after promising to clean up the union. While perusing Fitzhugh's proposed contract, Burns becomes disgusted with its demands and reminisces about simpler times when disgruntled workers were simply walled up in coke ovens at his grandfather's command. He then decides to challenge the union by arbitrarily revoking their dental plan.

Meanwhile, at Painless Dentistry, the Simpson children are getting their teeth checked. It is discovered Lisa needs braces. When Marge informs Homer, he tells her that the dental plan the union won during a strike will cover the cost. But later, at a union meeting, Carl announces that the newest contract requires them to give up their dental plan in exchange for a free keg of beer. Homer slowly comprehends that giving up their dental plan would require him to pay for Lisa's braces and jumps into action, reminding everyone how their dental plan has helped them all.

Carl proposes that Homer be the new union president and he is promptly elected by a nearly unanimous vote. Burns watches Homer on his hidden camera, and is intimidated by his energy. He invites Homer to his office with the intent of bribing him, but Homer misconstrues Mr. Burns's sly innuendos as sexual advances. Homer declares that he is not interested in "backdoor shenanigans" and promptly leaves; Burns wrongly infers that Homer is honest and incorruptible. Meanwhile, after learning the family has no insurance to pay for invisible braces, Lisa's dentist fits her with the cheapest (and ugliest) braces available, causing her self-esteem to drop.

Burns sends hired goons to the Simpson house in order to take Homer back to his manor to negotiate. While Burns is setting the agenda for the discussion, Homer is struck by the urgent need to use the restroom. He asks Burns where the restroom is and leaves, but his delayed attempts to find it led Burns to conclude that Homer is a tough negotiator who is unwilling to hear him out. At a later union meeting, Homer tries to resign, tired of meeting with Burns. The union misinterprets his frustration, and the members nearly unanimously decide to strike. Burns is undeterred by the strike and tries several methods of breaking it up but fails. On an edition of Kent Brockman's talk show, Burns threatens dire events if the strike is not concluded.

Burns and Smithers march to a secret room in the Power Plant and turn off the power for the entire town. The strikers do not lose hope and begin to sing. Burns, confident he has broken the union's spirit, steps out on his balcony to hear their reaction but is disarmed by their unity and optimism. Burns finally calls a meeting with Homer to concede their demands on one condition: that Homer resign as union president. Homer celebrates madly, leading Burns to finally realize that Homer is not the "brilliant tactician" he thought he was. With the Simpson family insured again, Lisa gets her perfect new braces and she, the Simpson family, and the dentist gather, laughing—because the dentist has forgotten to turn off the nitrous oxide.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' answers a distress call from the planet Camus II, the site of an archaeological expedition. Among the survivors are Dr. Janice Lester, with whom Captain Kirk was once intimately involved, and the expedition's physician, Dr. Arthur Coleman. Coleman claims that Lester is suffering from radiation exposure.

Dr. Coleman, Science Officer Spock and Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy leave to tend to the other survivors, leaving Lester and Kirk alone. The two reminisce about the time they spent together at Starfleet Academy and her lingering resentment at her inability to rise to captain. Kirk explores the room, and as he examines an alien machine, she activates it, paralyzing him. She then joins Kirk in the machine and activates it again. From each of their bodies a ghostly image emerges and then disappears into the other's body. The person appearing to be Kirk then declares that Janice Lester has taken the place of Captain Kirk, and begins to strangle the person appearing to be Lester.

Spock and McCoy return before “Kirk” can finish the job, and he orders the landing party and the remaining survivors back to the ''Enterprise''. Once there, he gives Dr. Coleman full authority for treatment of “Janice Lester”, over McCoy's protests.

Alone, Coleman and “Kirk” discuss the situation. It is revealed that the two conspired to kill the expedition's personnel. Lester has now achieved her lifelong goal of commanding a starship.

Spock becomes suspicious when “Kirk” orders a course change to the Benecia Colony to drop off “Lester” for medical attention, despite the fact that Benecia's medical facilities are comparatively primitive, and that it would unnecessarily interfere with their current mission. McCoy invokes his authority to order a medical examination of the captain, including a personality test.

“Lester” regains consciousness and seeks help from Spock and McCoy. “Kirk” slaps her back into unconsciousness, and orders her to be put in isolation. Spock interviews “Lester” and is somewhat skeptical of her story. “Lester” suggests that he use his telepathic abilities to learn the truth, and he is convinced.

Spock tries to free “Lester” but is stopped by a security team led by the impostor Kirk, who accuses Spock of mutiny and orders a court-martial. Once on trial, Spock argues that Captain Kirk is really in the body of Dr. Lester. “Kirk” suggests that Spock's real goal is to take command himself and offers to drop charges if Spock will desist. Spock refuses, and “Kirk” flies into a hysterical rage.

Shocked by Kirk's behavior, McCoy and Chief Engineer Scott confer secretly in the corridor. Scott believes that if Spock is acquitted, the "captain" won't let the decision stand, making it necessary to mutiny. “Kirk”, having monitored their conversation, declares McCoy, Scott, Spock, and “Lester” guilty of mutiny and condemned to death.

On the bridge, Chekov and Sulu, having witnessed the trial, determine to resist the “captain”, and refuse to obey his orders. Loudly accusing them of mutiny, “Kirk” falls into his chair, and an image of Lester emerges from his body, only to return again. “Kirk” runs to Coleman, who tells him that the transfer is reversing itself, and that Kirk, in Lester's body, must die in order to prevent it. The two head to the brig intending to inject “Lester” with a toxic substance. “Lester” resists, and the reversal now completes itself. Realizing she has lost her triple attempt to kill Kirk, destroy her female gender and the ability to command a starship, she suffers a complete mental breakdown; the hysterical Lester begs Coleman to kill Kirk. Coleman then pleads with Kirk to allow him to care for her. Coleman and Lester are escorted to Sickbay. Kirk, Spock, and Scotty proceed to the Bridge and the ''Enterprise'' proceeds on its mission.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at the planet Sarpeidon, whose star is soon to go nova. Surprised to find the surface devoid of humanoid life, Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Spock beam down to investigate. They encounter one last remaining resident, a librarian named Mr. Atoz. Aware of the imminent destruction, Atoz tells the landing party that he will soon escape to rejoin his family. Atoz shows them the Atavachron, a machine with a time portal. They hear a woman scream. Kirk instinctively runs through the portal and McCoy and Spock follow. Atoz tries to warn them that they were not "prepared."

Kirk finds himself in a period similar to 17th century England while McCoy and Spock have traveled back 5,000 years to Sarpeidon's ice age. They cannot locate the portal, but the three are able to speak to each other. Spock surmises that Sarpeidon's inhabitants have all escaped to their planet's past.

The woman who screamed is a thief, and the policemen who come to arrest her hear Kirk speaking to his friends and suspect him of being a witch. In the jail, Kirk mentions the Atavachron to the interrogating prosecutor. This startles him, and Kirk suspects he is also from the future. Kirk escapes his cell by luring his jailer close and overpowering him. The prosecutor confirms his suspicions but explains that returning to the future would be fatal, since the time travel preparation involves changes to the traveler's biology. Kirk tells him that he went through no such preparation. The prosecutor informs him that an "unprepared" person cannot survive in the past for more than a few hours, just as a "prepared" person cannot survive in the present. The prosecutor leads Kirk to the portal, and Kirk returns to the present.

McCoy and Spock are saved by Zarabeth, a woman who takes them to a sheltering cave. Upon arrival in the past, Spock begins displaying uncharacteristic emotionalism: He continues carrying McCoy when logic would dictate he abandon him, he falls in love with Zarabeth, and he reacts with anger at McCoy's racial slurs. As McCoy recovers from severe exposure, Zarabeth explains to Spock that she too is from Sarpeidon's future, but a tyrant banished her to this era, in which she is the only extant humanoid. She also explains that the Atavachron is a one-way trip. Spock accepts this and becomes increasingly hostile to McCoy's continued desire to return to the present. McCoy accuses Zarabeth of lying about their inability to return because she is desperate not to be abandoned to unending loneliness again, and says that Spock backs her out of emotional attachment. McCoy realizes that being sent 5,000 years into the past is causing Spock to revert to the barbarism of the ancient Vulcans. Realizing the emotionalism of his behavior, Spock asks Zarabeth again about the portal. She admits she doesn't know what the effect of a return trip will be on him and McCoy.

Back in the library, despite Kirk's explaining that they are not from Sarpeidon, Atoz stuns him and tries to force him back into the portal. Kirk awakens, overpowers Atoz and forces him to help find McCoy and Spock. Eventually Kirk is able to talk with the two. Unwilling to leave Zarabeth, and still unaware that he will die soon if he remains in the past, Spock tries to send McCoy through the portal alone. However, because McCoy and Spock went through the portal together, neither one can go back without the other. Upon their return, Atoz hurries through the portal to his chosen era. Spock reverts to his normal self. With little time to spare the three are beamed back to the ''Enterprise'', which escapes as the Sarpeidon sun goes nova and destroys the planet.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at the volcanic planet of Excalbia to conduct a geological survey. Impossibly, sensors detect carbon-based life on the planet's surface. The image of Abraham Lincoln drifts toward the ship on the viewscreen. Though skeptical that the figure is the real president, Kirk extends full presidential honors as he transports aboard the ship. Lincoln is human, has no knowledge of technology past the 19th century, but is somehow familiar with the Vulcan philosophy of Nom (meaning "all"). Lincoln invites Kirk and Spock to accompany him down to the planet where an area has appeared with Earth-like conditions. Despite the possibility that the livable conditions are an illusion, Kirk accepts, reasoning that the ''Enterprise'' s mission demands they accept any offer of contact with new life.

Once on the planet, Kirk and Spock discover their tricorder and phasers did not transport with them. They are met by Surak, "the father of Vulcan civilization", who died centuries before. A rock-like being with clawed hands and glowing eyes atop a bulbous head, named Yarnek, announces that the inhabitants of the planet wish to conduct an experiment to determine which human philosophy is stronger: good or evil. In this experiment, Earth warlord Colonel Phillip Green, Klingon warlord Kahless, a practitioner of unethical experiments on humanoids named Zora, and Genghis Khan, together representing evil, will be pitted against Kirk, Spock, Lincoln, and Surak (representing good) in a fight to the death.

Colonel Green offers Kirk an alliance against the Excalbians so that they can all safely return to where they came from, but this is only a distraction for a surprise attack. Kirk and his companions fend off their opponents and run for cover. Kirk and his companions remain resolved that the Excalbians are the true enemy. Kirk attacks Yarnek, but the alien's body is too hot to touch. To force them to fight, Yarnek breaks down the shielding between the matter and anti-matter on the ''Enterprise'', ensuring the ship will explode unless Kirk's force emerges victorious in four hours.

Kirk and the others begin to manufacture spears. Surak, whose life experiences have taught him that persistent efforts at peace are the best course, obtains permission to go alone to the enemy camp and negotiate. Green's group kills Surak and lures the others in by mimicking Surak crying for help. Lincoln offers to sneak around and free Surak while Kirk and Spock provide a diversion. When Lincoln arrives, he finds Surak's corpse and the waiting Kahless and Green, who kill him.

Though now outnumbered two-to-one, when Kirk and Spock confront Green's group in battle, they quickly flee. Despite the conditions of a fight to the death remaining unfulfilled, Yarnek announces that the experiment is over. He concludes that there is nothing different between good and evil because the methods used to fight each other are the same. Kirk explains that the similar methods of how the two fight each other does not define them as the same. What defines them is the things for which each of them fight. The Excalbians allow Kirk and Spock to return to the ''Enterprise''. Though the mystery of Lincoln and Surak remains unsolved, Spock offers the conjecture that the Excalbians, using their apparent ability to transform matter, transformed other living beings into the likenesses of Lincoln and Surak, then tapped Kirk and Spock's minds to create the personalities which they imagined those historical figures had.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is in pursuit of the stolen space cruiser ''Aurora''. In trying to escape, the ''Aurora'' overloads its engines and its six passengers are safely beamed aboard the ''Enterprise'' just as the ''Aurora'' explodes. The group consists of Tongo Rad, son of the Catullan ambassador; Irina Galliulin, an acquaintance of Ensign Chekov; Dr. Sevrin, a noted electronics, acoustics, and communications researcher; Adam, a musician; and two other women.

In responses to Kirk's questions, Dr. Sevrin says their destination is the planet "Eden", which Kirk responds is a myth. The group refuses to co-operate with Kirk, but are impressed by First Officer Spock, who is familiar with their social movement. They are persuaded to go to Sickbay for a medical examination which reveals the party to be in good health, except for Dr. Sevrin, who is an asymptomatic carrier of a bacterium. Sevrin is quarantined in the brig. He admits to being aware of this, and believes it to be a product of artificial environments, and tells Spock that the planet Eden will somehow "cleanse" him. Spock attempts to reason with Sevrin and offers to help him find Eden in exchange for his cooperation, but concludes that Sevrin is not sane.

The rest of the group plan to take over the ship. After putting on a music concert, during which Tongo Rad frees Sevrin, the group takes over Auxiliary Control and puts the ''Enterprise'' on course for Eden. On arrival at the planet, Sevrin renders all ''Enterprise'' crew unconscious with an ultrasonic frequency broadcast through the intercom.

When the crew regain consciousness, they discover that Sevrin and his followers have stolen a shuttlecraft. Kirk deactivates Sevrin's sonic device, and then joins Spock, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, and Chekov in a search for the group.

The planet surface is lush and beautiful. However, all the plant life secretes a powerful acid, as Chekov discovers when he touches a flower. The team soon finds Adam, lying dead from poisonous fruit. Sevrin and the other survivors are then found in the shuttlecraft, all with chemical burns on their feet. Kirk says they must leave, but Sevrin runs from the shuttle, bites into one of the fruits, and dies.

Back on the ''Enterprise'', Irina comes to the bridge to say goodbye to Chekov. Spock advises her and her friends not to give up their search for Eden, as he believes they will either find it, or create one for themselves.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at the planet Ardana to take on a shipment of zenite, needed elsewhere to halt a botanical plague. Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock beam directly to the zenite mines, where a group of miners, led by a young woman, attempt to take them hostage. High Advisor Plasus arrives with a security force, driving the miners off, and invites Kirk and Spock to return with him to the floating city of Stratos.

Kirk and Spock are entertained as guests until the zenite can be recovered. They learn Ardanan society is divided between the Troglytes, who perform all physical labor, and city-dwellers who live in luxury. A group of Troglytes known as the Disruptors are rebelling against the elites.

While Kirk is resting, Vanna, leader of the Disrupters, attempts to take him hostage. Kirk overpowers her, recognizes her as the woman he saw at the mine and questions her. She accuses the Stratos city-dwellers of using the ''Enterprise'' to intimidate the Troglytes. Spock and a Stratos security guard arrive, and Vanna is subdued. She is then taken for interrogation under the "rays", which induce intense pain as a form of torture. Kirk is outraged by Plasus's actions and demands the interrogation be stopped. Plasus instead orders Kirk and Spock to leave Stratos immediately and forbids them to return.

The two return to the ''Enterprise'' where Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy reports that unprocessed zenite emits an odorless, invisible gas which diminishes mental capacity and heightens emotions. Spock believes that Troglytes serving aboard the floating city have been spared the effects of the gas, enabling them to organize the rebellion.

Kirk contacts Plasus and offers special masks that filter the zenite gas. Plasus, however, regards Kirk's proposal as unwarranted interference in his government's affairs. Kirk then beams down to Vanna's holding cell, informs her of the effects of zenite gas, and makes his offer to her. Vanna is skeptical at first but appears to trust him, and she and Kirk escape and return to the zenite mines. Once there, however, she orders Kirk seized by two other Disruptors.

Vanna's friends depart, and she puts Kirk to work digging for zenite. After a short while Kirk attacks her, regains his phaser, and fires at the ceiling of the mine, causing a cave-in that traps them. He then contacts the ''Enterprise'' and orders Plasus to be beamed to his location. An indignant Plasus is beamed in, and Kirk forces him and Vanna to dig for zenite. The effects of the zenite gas become apparent as Kirk and Plasus become increasingly irritable. A brawl between them breaks out, and Vanna, finally believing Kirk's story of the gas, signals the ''Enterprise'' for help.

Back in the city, the zenite consignment is prepared for transport. Plasus has grudgingly allowed the distribution of the filter masks, and Vanna declares that her people's struggle for equality will continue.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is en route to Memory Alpha, a planetoid that is home to the Federation's central library. A storm-like phenomenon moving at warp speed is also on course to the planetoid. The ''Enterprise'' intercepts the storm, which enters the ship, affecting some crew members' nervous systems. Lieutenant Mira Romaine, who has been assigned to Memory Alpha, faints from the effects of the storm. Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy examines Romaine, who seems unresponsive apart from strange grunting sounds.

The storm proceeds to Memory Alpha, with the ''Enterprise'' in pursuit, and destroys the station's computer core. Captain Kirk, along with Science Officer Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Scott beam to the station to inspect the damage. Meanwhile, Romaine has visions of corpses at Memory Alpha. The landing party finds the Memory Alpha's archives seriously damaged, and its staff dead, save one who makes the same guttural noises as Romaine, and dies from what McCoy determines to be a brain hemorrhage. Kirk then has Romaine beamed to the station. She is terrified to see the exact scene from her vision, and then warns that the storm is returning.

Scans of the storm determine that it is actually a group of life forms, and Kirk tries to communicate with them through the universal translator, but gets no response. After firing phaser warning shots, Kirk resorts to a full attack, and as the beams strike the storm, Romaine seems to react in pain. Scott, noticing this, begs Kirk to stop the attack.

During a discussion in the briefing room, McCoy reports that Romaine's brain wave pattern has been altered, and Spock reveals that the new pattern matches sensor data from the storm. They conclude that the alien life forms are attempting to take control of Romaine's body. To prevent this, they devise a plan to allow the aliens to take partial control and then subject Romaine to high atmospheric pressure. Before they can place her into the pressure chamber, the aliens finally enter Romaine's body, and begin to speak through her, identifying themselves as survivors from the long-dead planet of Zetar. They intend to live out their remaining existence using Romaine's body. With some difficulty, Scott succeeds in getting Romaine into the pressure chamber, and the aliens are eventually driven out and apparently destroyed.

With the conclusion of the crisis, Spock, McCoy, and Scott all agree that Romaine is fit to return to duty, with a new assignment to oversee salvaging and repairs of Memory Alpha's archives.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at the planet Gideon to discuss diplomatic relations. The Gideons will permit only one representative, Captain Kirk, to set foot on their planet. Kirk beams down to the coordinates provided, but finds himself apparently still aboard the ''Enterprise'', which is now devoid of any crew.

First Officer Spock is informed that the Captain has not arrived on the planet, but the Gideon Ambassador, Hodin, refuses to allow a search team to investigate. Neither Starfleet Command nor the Federation bureaucracy is of any help, each referring the matter to the other.

Meanwhile, Kirk wanders the deserted corridors and notices a strange bruise on his arm. He eventually encounters a beautiful young woman named Odona. She claims to have no idea how she got there, recalling only that she was in an overcrowded auditorium and struggling to breathe. For the moment, Odona is just relieved to have freedom of movement. Kirk insists that she must be from Gideon, but Odona denies any knowledge of the planet.

Kirk learns from Odona that her home planet is severely overpopulated, with crowds of people everywhere and no privacy, because death is rare. To her, the privilege of being alone, even for a moment, is a dream come true. Kirk is taken by Odona's beauty, and the two share a passionate kiss. Neither notice the image of two dozen faces appearing on the view screen behind them.

As Kirk and Odona leave the bridge, Kirk hears a strange sound outside the ship. He goes to a viewport and catches a glimpse of a crowd of people looking in. The scene quickly changes to a normal view of space. Kirk confronts Odona about what is going on, but she denies knowing what is happening. She then complains of a strange feeling and faints into Kirk's arms.

Kirk carries her to sick bay, where he encounters Ambassador Hodin, who informs him that Odona, his daughter, is suffering from Vegan choriomeningitis, having been infected with Kirk's blood, which carries the virus. Hodin's plan is to infect the Gideon population with the virus, shortening their immense lifespans and relieving the population problem. Kirk is to supply the virus, while Odona's death is to serve as an inspiration for future volunteers. Questioned about alternatives, Hodin explains that the Gideon people's regenerative abilities would foil sterilization attempts, and that other methods of birth control would never be accepted.

Having realized that Hodin has deceived him, Spock goes against Starfleet orders and beams down to Kirk's original coordinates. Once there, he finds the false ''Enterprise'' that was built to confuse Kirk. He soon reaches Kirk and Odona, and asks Hodin not to interfere as he, Spock, is in enough trouble already. Kirk, Spock, and Odona return to the real ''Enterprise'', where Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy treats Odona's condition. Odona now plans to return to Gideon to supply the virus herself. Kirk forgives her for her deception.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' arrives at the planet Elba II, home to a Federation facility for the criminally insane, carrying a shipment of new medication which is believed will cure all violent insanity. Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock beam down with the shipment to meet the facility director Donald Cory. Instead, they find that the inmates have taken over the facility and locked Cory in a cell. The inmates are led by Garth of Izar, a former starship fleet captain, mentally unstable as the result of an injury. He acquired the ability to shapeshift using a method taught to him to heal his own injuries, and was released from his cell when he assumed Cory's form.

Kirk and Spock are imprisoned, and Garth, in Kirk's form, orders Chief Engineer Scott to beam him aboard, intending to use the ''Enterprise'' to conquer the galaxy. However, Scott refuses when Garth fails to give the correct response to a passphrase challenge. Scott and the ''Enterprise'' crew recognize something is wrong, but a force field around the facility prevents them from taking any action.

After a banquet with Kirk and Spock, Garth inquires about the passphrase. Kirk refuses to reveal it, and Garth resorts to torturing both Doctor Cory and Kirk. One of the inmates, an Orion female named Marta, attempts to seduce and then kill Kirk, but Spock arrives and subdues her. The two make contact with the ship. Kirk, sensing something amiss, instructs Spock to provide the passphrase, which he cannot do, forcing Garth to reveal he had taken Spock's form.

Once again a captive, Kirk witnesses Garth's "coronation" as "Master of the Universe". Garth demonstrates his power by killing Marta with an explosive planted on her body. Still unable to get Kirk's cooperation, Garth sends for Spock, who overpowers his escorts. On entering a control room, Spock faces two Kirks, each of whom accuses the other of being Garth. A struggle begins, during which one Kirk orders Spock to stun them both; Spock stuns the other, who is revealed to be Garth of Izar. Once again in control of the facility, Doctor Cory administers the new drugs to Garth and the other inmates. Once cured of his mental illness, Garth no longer remembers anything that has happened since his injury.

The Federation starship ''Enterprise'' is on a mission to help decontaminate the polluted atmosphere of the planet Ariannus, when sensors detect a Federation shuttlecraft that was reported stolen. The craft is brought aboard along with its alien pilot, who identifies himself as Lokai, a political refugee from the planet Cheron. Lokai's most striking feature is that his skin is ink-black on one side of his body and chalk-white on the other side.

Shortly thereafter, sensors detect another spacecraft in pursuit of the ''Enterprise''. The alien craft disintegrates, but not before its pilot, Bele, transports to the ''Enterprise'' bridge. He is colored black and white, similar to Lokai. Bele explains that he is on a mission to retrieve political traitors. His current quarry is Lokai, whom he has been chasing for 50,000 Earth years. Bele is taken to Lokai, and the two begin to argue about the history of their peoples, almost coming to blows.

Bele demands that Captain Kirk take him and Lokai to Cheron. Kirk refuses, telling him he will have to make his case to Federation authorities. Some time later, the ship changes course to Cheron, and Bele announces that his "will" has taken control of the ship. Lokai demands the death of Bele, and Kirk orders both of them to be taken to the brig. Unfortunately, a force field generated by both aliens makes that impossible. With no other way to regain control, Kirk threatens to destroy the ''Enterprise'', and begins the ship’s auto-destruct sequence. In the last seconds of the countdown, Bele relents, and the ship resumes its course to Ariannus.

As Bele continues angrily to press his matter with Starfleet, he reveals the source of his conflict with Lokai. He, and all of his people on Cheron, are black on their right sides, while Lokai's people are all white on their right sides. The distinction is lost on the ship's officers, who leave it for legal authorities at the next starbase to decide, as the Federation has no extradition treaties with Cheron, and the case requires due process. Once the Ariannus mission is completed, Bele takes control of the ''Enterprise'' again, this time disabling the self-destruct system. When the ship arrives at Cheron, Spock can find no sign of intelligent life. Lokai and Bele realize they are each the only ones left of their peoples, who have completely annihilated themselves in civil war. Enraged, they attack each other, their force fields threatening to damage the ship. Lokai breaks away, Bele pursues him, and the two eventually beam down to the planet. The bridge crew remark sadly on their unwillingness to give up their hate.

The ''Enterprise'' discovers a planet whose young age is inconsistent with its atmosphere and biology. As Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Sulu and geologist D'Amato beam down, a woman appears in the transporter room, touches the transporter technician, and kills him instantly. As the landing party materializes, the surface of the planet is rocked by a violent tremor. Communication with the ''Enterprise'' is lost, leaving them stranded.

At the same time, the ''Enterprise'' finds itself 990.7 light years from the planet. First Officer Spock orders the ''Enterprise'' back to the planet. Dr. M'Benga determines the cause of the transporter officer's death to be cellular disruption.

The landing party splits up and explores their surroundings. As D'Amato surveys a rocky area, he comes face-to-face with the woman who appeared in the transporter room. After listing off his name and professional record, she says, "I am for you," and touches D'Amato, killing him.

A failed attempt to cut a grave for D'Amato proves that the planet is artificial. The woman appears to Sulu and attempts to touch him, but only brushes his shoulder with her fingertips. Sulu's screams of pain bring Kirk and McCoy, who find him injured but alive. The woman touches Kirk's shoulder without effect. They conclude that she can only kill the person she specifically names.

Chief Engineer Scott, sensing something wrong, orders Engineer Watkins to check equipment in a secluded area. The mysterious woman appears, kills Watkins, and disappears again. The ship begins to accelerate uncontrollably, and Scott discovers the emergency overload bypass has been sabotaged. Scott estimates that the ship will explode in 15 minutes if not brought back under control. Spock suggests manually cutting the matter-antimatter fuel flow to the warp engines. Scott begins the procedure as the ''Enterprise'' passes warp 13.2. Scott stops the matter–antimatter flow at the last second, just as the ship hit warp 14.1 and the ship continues its course to the planet.

On the planet, the woman appears again, announcing she is "for Kirk", but Sulu and McCoy block her path. Questioned by Kirk, the woman says she is Losira, the station commander. She is alone, and her only purpose is to defend the planet from intruders. Kirk's questions unsettle her and she vanishes. Strong power emanations lead the landing party to a hidden entrance in a rock face. Passing into the hidden chamber, the landing party find a glowing computer. Three copies of Losira enter, one each for Kirk, Sulu, and McCoy. As they approach, Spock and a security officer materialize, and, at Kirk's command, destroy the computer. The three Losiras vanish.

A projected image of Losira then appears on a wall, informing her fellow Kalandans that a disease has killed the station's personnel, and that the computer has been defending the station against intruders. McCoy surmises that the disease eventually wiped out the entire Kalandan species, and Spock suggests that the computer used images of Losira to do the job of defense. Kirk concludes that the landing party survived because the reproductions were so perfect that they experienced regret about killing.

''A Night in the Lonesome October'' is narrated from the point-of-view of Snuff, a dog who is Jack the Ripper's companion. The bulk of the story takes place in London and its environments, though at one point the story detours through the dream-world described by Lovecraft in ''The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath''. Though never explicitly stated, various contextual clues within the story (the most obvious of which being the appearance of Sherlock Holmes or "The Great Detective") imply that it takes place during the late Victorian period.

The story reveals that once every few decades when the moon is full on the night of Halloween, the fabric of reality thins and doors may be opened between this world and the realm of the Great Old Ones. When these conditions are right, men and women with occult knowledge may gather at a specific ritual site to hold the doors closed, or to help fling them open. Should the Closers win, then the world will remain as it is until the next turning, but should the Openers succeed, then the Great Old Ones will come to Earth, to remake the world in their own image, enslaving or slaughtering the human race in the process. The Openers have never yet won. These meetings are often referred to as "The Game" or "The Great Game" by the participants, who try to keep the goings-on secret from the mundane population.

The various "Players" during the Game depicted in the book are archetypal characters from Victorian Era gothic fiction – Jack the Ripper (only ever referred to as "Jack"), Dracula ("The Count"), Victor Frankenstein ("The Good Doctor"), and the Wolf Man (known as "Larry Talbot", the film character's name) all make appearances. In addition, there is a Witch ("Crazy Jill"), a Clergyman (Vicar Roberts), a Druid ("Owen"), a "Mad Monk" ("Rastov" – apparently modeled after Rasputin), and grave robbers or Hermetic occultists ("Morris and McCab" – based either on real-life grave robbers Burke and Hare or a reference to a real hermetic of the time, MacGregor Mathers).

Each Player has a familiar – an animal companion with near-human intelligence that helps complete the numerous preparations for the ritual. The majority of the story describes the interactions and discussions of these familiars, all from Snuff's point of view.

Throughout the book, the Players slowly take sides, form alliances, make deals, oppose one another, and even kill off their enemies. The plot accelerates until the night of October 31, when the rite takes place and the fate of the world is decided.

Charles Whitley (Ernest Truex), a retiree at Sunnyvale Rest Home, thinks he has discovered the secret of youth. He is convinced that if he acts young, he will become young. His oldest and best friend Ben Conroy (Russell Collins), whom he has known since childhood, thinks he is going crazy, and is able to persuade the home's superintendent, Mr. Cox (John Marley) that this is the case. Mr. Cox decides to put Charles in isolation and under observation. Ben tries to convince Charles to act as sedate as the other residents in order to avoid this fate, to no avail. While Ben sees aging as an inescapable fact of life, Charles is convinced that Ben's thinking of himself as old is what made him old.

That night, Charles convinces a number of residents to play a game of kick the can with him. He tries to talk Ben into joining them, but Ben refuses. The residents light a firecracker and throw it out a window, the noise drawing the nurse's attention so they can sneak out the door. Meanwhile, Ben alerts Mr. Cox to what the other residents are up to. They run outside to find a group of children playing kick the can instead. Ben recognizes one of the children as Charles, who has become young again. He begs young Charley for a chance to go with him, but the boy seems not to know him, and dashes away into the darkness. Mr. Cox searches elsewhere for the elderly residents, while Ben walks slowly to the front steps of Sunnyvale and sits there with the can, alone, knowing that Mr. Cox can look all he wants for the residents... and that he will never find them.

After a five-day away mission spent apologising on the planet Kreetassa, the away team consisting of Captain Archer, Sub-Commander T'Pol, Ensign Sato, and Archer's dog, Porthos, return to the ship to decontaminate. Porthos has acquired a pathogen on the planet surface and must be quarantined. Archer learns from Commander Tucker of the ship's need for an extra plasma injector from the Kreetassans, but negotiations break down after it is discovered that Porthos had urinated on a sacred tree, insulting the Kreetassans. Archer reacts poorly to the news and is given a list of requirements he must meet in order to apologise.

He and Doctor Phlox then tend to Porthos, and Archer spends the night in Sickbay to be with his pet. Throughout the night, as Porthos' immune system weakens, Archer experiences Phlox's side of life in Sickbay. During the night, as he dreams of Porthos' funeral, Archer also deals with unresolved and suppressed sexual tension with T'Pol. He also relates to Phlox how he met Porthos, and how he was the last in a litter of four male puppies, the 'Four Musketeers'. Through it all, Archer struggles to reach an emotional understanding with Phlox and T'Pol, as the two alien senior-crew members have little grasp of the human-pet relationship, and Phlox keeps offering Archer unsolicited advice about dealing with his apparent feelings for T'Pol.

T'Pol, working out in the gym, also keeps urging Archer to apologize to the Kreetassans for Porthos' behavior, but Archer resists because he blames them for Porthos' illness. In the end, Porthos recovers following a pituitary transplant from an alien chameleon. Finally swallowing his pride, Archer then goes down to the Kreetassan capital and delivers an intricate ritual apology which involves slicing a tree trunk with a chainsaw, arranging the pieces of wood in a complex pattern on the ground, and chanting phrases in the Kreetassan language. Having successfully apologised to the Kreetassans, the crew finally manage to procure three plasma injectors prior to their departure.

A reclusive novelist named Bill Gray works endlessly on a novel which he chooses not to finish. He has chosen a life secluded from the outside world in order to try to keep his writing pure. He, along with his assistant Scott, believes that something is lost once a mass audience reads the work. Scott would prefer Bill didn't publish the book for fear that the mass-production of the work will destroy the "real" Bill. Bill has a dalliance with Scott's partner Karen Janney, a former member of the Unification Church who is married to Kim Jo Pak in a Unification Church Blessing ceremony in the prologue of the book.

Bill, who lives as a complete recluse, accedes to be photographed by a New York photographer named Brita who is documenting writers. In dialogue with Brita and others, Bill laments that novelists are quickly becoming obsolete in an age where terrorism has supplanted art as the "raids on consciousness" that jolt and transform culture at large. Bill disappears without a word and secretly decides to accept an opportunity from his former editor Charles to travel to London to publicly speak on the behalf of a Swiss writer held hostage in war-torn Beirut.

Meanwhile, Karen ends up living in Brita's New York apartment and spends most of her time in the homeless slums of Tompkins Square Park. In London, Bill is introduced to George Haddad, a representative of the Maoist group responsible for kidnapping the writer. Bill decides to go to Lebanon himself and negotiate the release of the writer. Cutting himself off from Charles, he flees to Cyprus where he awaits a ship that will take him to Lebanon.

In Cyprus, Bill is hit by a car and suffers a lacerated liver which, exacerbated by his heavy drinking, kills him in his sleep while en route to Beirut. In the epilogue, Brita goes to Beirut to photograph Abu Rashid, the terrorist responsible for the kidnapping. The fate of the hostage is never revealed, though the implication is grim. The plot unfolds with DeLillo's customary shifts of time, setting, and character.

Dolemite is a pimp, comedian, and nightclub owner who is serving twenty years in prison after being set up by a rival, Willie Green (D'Urville Martin), and framed by detectives Mitchell and White, at the direction of the mayor (Hy Pyke). Released by the governor (thanks to lobbying by fellow pimp "Queen Bee" (Lady Reed)), Dolemite is freed in order to discover the source of the out of control drug problem in the "Fourth Ward" of the city, and take revenge on the corruption that put him in prison. He rekindles his reputation on the streets, while trying to get back his "Total Experience" club from the hands of Willie Green. He enlists the help of Queen Bee, and his stable of kung fu trained prostitutes to settle the score, while an undercover FBI agent (Jerry Jones) lurks in the shadows overlooking the proceedings.

''Stonekeep'''s mythology revolves around a variety of gods associated with planets of the solar system. In order, they are Helion (Mercury), Aquila (Venus), Thera (Earth), Azrael (Mars), Marif (Jupiter), Afri (Saturn), Saffrini (Uranus), Yoth-Soggoth (Neptune) the Master of Magick, and Kor-Soggoth (Pluto) the Brother to Magick. These gods were captured and imprisoned in nine orbs by the dark god Khull-Khuum 1000 years before the events of the game, during a cataclysm referred to as "The Devastation".

''Stonekeep'' is centered on a hero, Drake. Ten years before the events of the game, Drake's home, the castle of Stonekeep, was destroyed by the insane god Khull-Khuum, the Shadowking. Drake, at this time just a boy, was saved from the castle by a mysterious figure. Returning to the ruins of Stonekeep, Drake is visited by the goddess Thera, who sends his spirit out of his body into the ruins itself to explore, find the mystical orbs containing the other gods, and reclaim the land.

Along the way, Drake makes many friends, including Farli, Karzak, and Dombur the dwarves; the great dragon Vermatrix; the elf Enigma; and the mysterious Wahooka, the King of goblins. Together, they embark on a quest of ridding the world of Khull-Khuum and his consort the Ice Queen.

Act I

In the British trenches facing Saint-Quentin, Captain Hardy converses with Lieutenant Osborne, an older man and public school master, who has come to relieve him. Hardy jokes about the behaviour of Captain Stanhope, who has turned to alcohol to cope with the stress which the war has caused him. While Hardy jokes, Osborne defends Stanhope and describes him as "the best company commander we've got".

Private Mason, a servant cook, often forgets about ingredients and key parts of the food that he prepares for the officers. He is really part of the infantry but the company has let him be a part-time cook.

Second Lieutenant Trotter is a rotund officer commissioned from the ranks who likes his food; he cannot stand the war and counts down each hour that he serves in the front line by drawing circles onto a piece of paper and then colouring them in.

Second Lieutenant James "Jimmy" Raleigh is a young and naive officer who joins the company. Raleigh knew Stanhope from school, where Stanhope was skipper at rugby; Raleigh refers to Stanhope as Dennis. He also has a sister whom Stanhope is dating.

Raleigh admits that he requested to be sent to Stanhope's company. Osborne hints to Raleigh that Stanhope will not be the same person he knew from school, as the experiences of war have changed him; however, Raleigh does not seem to understand.

Stanhope is angry that Raleigh has been allowed to join him and describes the boy as a hero-worshipper. As Stanhope is in a relationship with Raleigh's sister Madge, he is concerned that Raleigh will write home and inform his sister of Stanhope's drinking. Stanhope tells Osborne that he will censor Raleigh's letters so this will not happen; Osborne does not approve.

Stanhope has a keen sense of duty and feels that he must continue to serve rather than take leave to which he is entitled. He criticises another soldier, Second Lieutenant Hibbert, who he thinks is faking neuralgia in the eye so that he can be sent home instead of continuing fighting.

Osborne puts a tired and somewhat drunk Stanhope to bed. Stanhope, as well as the other officers, refers to Osborne as "Uncle".

Act II

Scene 1

Trotter and Mason converse about the bacon rashers which the company has to eat. Trotter talks about how the start of spring makes him feel youthful; he also talks about the hollyhocks which he has planted. These conversations are a way of escaping the trenches and the reality of the war.

Osborne and Raleigh discuss how slowly time passes at the front, and the fact that both of them played rugby before the war and that Osborne was a schoolmaster before he signed up to fight. While Raleigh appears interested, Osborne points out that it is of little use now.

Osborne describes the madness of war when describing how German soldiers allowed the British to rescue a wounded soldier in no man's land, while the next day the two sides shelled each other heavily. He describes the war as "silly".

Stanhope announces that the barbed wire around the trenches needs to be mended. Information gathered from a captured German indicates that an enemy attack is planned to begin on Thursday morning, only two days away.

Stanhope confiscates a letter from Raleigh, insisting on his right to censor it. Stanhope is in a relationship with Raleigh's sister and is worried that, in the letter, Raleigh will reveal Stanhope's growing alcoholism. Full of self-loathing, Stanhope accedes to Osborne's offer to read the letter for him. The letter is, in fact, full of praise for Stanhope. The scene ends with Stanhope quietly demurring from Osborne's suggestion to re-seal the envelope.

Scene 2

In a meeting with the Sergeant Major it is announced that the attack is taking place on Thursday. Stanhope and the Sergeant-Major discuss battle plans. The Colonel relays orders that the General wants a raid to take place on the German trench prior to the attack, "a surprise daylight raid", all previous raids having been made under cover of darkness, and that they want to be informed of the outcome by 7 p.m. Stanhope states that such a plan is absurd, and that the General and his staff merely want this so their dinner will not be delayed.

The Colonel agrees with Stanhope but says that orders are orders, and they must be obeyed. Later, it is stated that in a similar raid, after the British artillery bombardment, the Germans had tied red rag to the gaps in the barbed wire so that their soldiers knew exactly where to train their machine guns.

It is decided that Osborne and Raleigh will be the officers to go on the raid, despite the fact that Raleigh has only recently entered the war.

Hibbert complains to Stanhope about the neuralgia he states he has been suffering from. Stanhope replies: "it would be better to die from the pain, than from being shot for desertion". Hibbert maintains that he does have neuralgia and the right to leave the battlefield to seek treatment, but when Stanhope threatens to shoot him if he goes, Hibbert breaks down crying. He says "Go on then, shoot!", suggesting that he would rather die than stay on the battlefield. The two soldiers admit to each other that they feel exactly the same way, and are struggling to cope with the stresses that the war is putting on them. Stanhope comforts Hibbert by saying they can go on duty together.

Osborne reads aloud to Trotter from Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''; another attempt to escape from the realities of the war. The scene ends with the idealistic Raleigh, who is untouched by the war, stating that it is "frightfully exciting" that he has been picked for the raid.

Act III

Scene 1

There is confirmation that the raid is still going ahead. The Colonel states that a German soldier needs to be captured so that intelligence can be extracted from him. Osborne admits to Stanhope that he knows he's probably not coming back, and asks Stanhope to look after his most cherished possessions and send them to his wife if he does not return after the raid. In the minutes before going over the top, Raleigh and Osborne talk about home – the New Forest and the town of Lyndhurst – to pass the time. Smoke-bombs are fired, the soldiers move towards the German trench, and a young German soldier is captured. However, Stanhope finds out that Osborne has been killed although Raleigh has survived.

Stanhope sarcastically states, "How awfully nice – if the Brigadier's pleased", when the Colonel's first concern is whether information has been gathered, not whether all the soldiers have returned safely. Six of ten other ranks have been killed.

Scene 2

Trotter, Stanhope, and Hibbert drink and talk about women. They all appear to be enjoying themselves until Hibbert is annoyed when Stanhope tells him to go to bed, and he tells Stanhope to go to bed instead, then Stanhope suddenly becomes angry and begins to shout at Hibbert, and tells him to clear off and get out.

Stanhope also becomes angry at Raleigh, who did not eat with the officers that night but preferred to eat with his men. Stanhope is offended by this, and Raleigh eventually admits that he feels he cannot eat while he thinks that Osborne is dead, and his body is in No Man's Land. Stanhope is angry because Raleigh had seemed to imply that Stanhope didn't care about Osborne's death because Stanhope was eating and drinking. Stanhope yells at Raleigh that he drinks to cope with the fact that Osborne died, to forget. Stanhope asks to be left alone and angrily tells Raleigh to leave.

Scene 3

The German attack on the British trenches approaches, and the Sergeant Major tells Stanhope they should expect heavy losses. When it arrives, Hibbert is reluctant to get out of bed and into the trenches.

A message is relayed to Stanhope telling him that Raleigh has been injured by a shell and that his spine is damaged, meaning he can't move his legs. Stanhope orders that Raleigh be brought into his dugout. He comforts Raleigh while Raleigh lies in bed. Raleigh says that he is cold and that it is becoming dark; Stanhope moves the candle to the bed and goes deeper into the dugout to fetch a blanket, but, by the time he returns, Raleigh has died.

The shells continue to explode in the background. Stanhope receives a message that he is needed. He gets up to leave and, after he has exited, a mortar hits the dugout causing it to collapse and entomb Raleigh's corpse. <!--SEE TALK PAGE

Professor Ellis Fowler is an elderly English literature teacher at the Rock Spring School, a boys' prep school in Vermont, who is forced into retirement after teaching for 51 years at the school. Looking through his old yearbooks and reminiscing about his former students, he becomes convinced that all of his lessons have been in vain and that he has accomplished nothing with his life.

Deeply depressed, he prepares to kill himself on the night of Christmas Eve next to a statue of the famous educator Horace Mann, with its quote "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." Before he can follow through, however, he is called back to his classroom by a phantom bell, where he is visited by ghosts of several boys who were his students, all dead, several of whom died heroically.

The boys tell him of how he inspired them to become better men, and the difference he made in their lives. One posthumously received the Medal of Honor for actions at Iwo Jima; another died of leukemia after exposure to X-Rays during research into cancer treatments; another died at Pearl Harbor after saving 12 other men. All were inspired by Fowler's teachings. Moved to tears, Fowler hears the phantom bell again, and his former pupils disappear. Now accepting of his retirement, content that his life is fuller for having enriched the lives of the boys, he listens to his current students caroling outside his home.

The show involved a teenage boy named Mark (Butch Patrick) who fell into the hat of Merlo the Magician (Charles Nelson Reilly), following his show at Six Flags Over Texas, and arrived in Lidsville, a land of living hats. The hats on the show are depicted as having the same characteristics as the humans who would normally wear them. For example, a cowboy hat would act and speak like a cowboy. The characters' houses were also hat-shaped.

The villain of the show was a magician named Horatio J. HooDoo (also played by Charles Nelson Reilly in a magician's costume and make-up). The vain, short-tempered, but somewhat naive HooDoo flew around in his Hatamaran, blasting the good citizens of Lidsville with bolts of magic (referred to as "zapping") and keeping them in fear, demanding that they pay him their Hat Tax. Mark helped the good hats resist as he attempted to find a way back home. HooDoo, trying to reclaim control of the androgynous Weenie the Genie from Mark, often enlisted the services of four Bad Hats. Mark was seen as a suspected spy against HooDoo on behalf of the good hat people and was captured at Derby Dunes by HooDoo's minions the Bad Hats the moment he had fallen into the world of Lidsville. He escapes from his clutches alongside a genie named Weenie (Billie Hayes).

In his high hat home, HooDoo was constantly besieged by the taunting music of his Hat Band, as well as all of his talking knickknacks (Parrot, Mr. Skull, mounted alligator head, the sawed-in-half lady, etc.). HooDoo also experienced further aggravation at the hands of his aides, the dimwitted Raunchy Rabbit and his two-faced card guard Jack of Clubs. HooDoo watched the action going on in downtown Lidsville from his hat home by using his Evil Eye, a device similar to a TV set that resembled an eyeball. He also had a hot chatline phone. The show relied on an endless array of puns based on hats. One such pun was "Derby Dunes", an area in Lidsville which sand dunes were shaped like derby hats.

Many of the episodes were about Mark trying to get back home, but the evil HooDoo prevented him from leaving. Weenie, being a nervous bumbler, was in fact a genie, but many of the tricks and spells did not work correctly anymore after being a slave to HooDoo for so long.

In the show's final episode, scenes from some of the past episodes were featured as HooDoo's mother (played by Muriel Landers, but not listed in the closing credits) had paid a visit to find out what has been going on in Lidsville while making sure that her son is still bad. Unfortunately for Mark, he did not return home at the end.

Music was also a part of the show, with songs being performed by the characters in several episodes.

Sandy Ricks is sent off for the summer to stay with his Uncle Porter in the seaside town of Coral Key. Initially, Sandy is unenthusiastic and disappointed that he is not going to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. His mood remains unchanged even after meeting Cathy, a local shopkeeper with whom his uncle carries on a flirtatious relationship, and Kim, a girl his own age.

While out on Porter's fishing trawler, they meet Porter's enemy, Dirk Moran. Nearby, a pod of Bottlenose dolphins is frolicking near Dirks boat. As a big game fisherman, Dirk Moran makes it plain that he hates just about every other fish-eating animal on earth and shoots at the pod ending with a dolphin being fatally shot. Sandy meets a dolphin that escaped Dirk's shooting, and eventually names it Flipper.

The next morning, Porter and Sandy are paid a visit by the sheriff Buck Cowan, who explains that they could not keep the dolphin unless he is in captivity. That night, Sandy and Kim set out on a dinghy to look for Flipper. They fail to locate the dolphin, but see the dumping of barrels off of Dirk Moran's boat. The next morning, as Kim arrives looking for Sandy, Pete, Porter's pet brown pelican, comes running as if asking her to follow him. Pete leads Kim to Flipper who is beached on the shore and sick. They manage to cure Flipper anyhow.

Cathy determines that Flipper has been poisoned by toxic waste, which is also shown to have been ruining the local fishing. The group uses Flipper's ability of echolocation and a special camera attached to his head to help them locate the barrels of toxic waste. Flipper also manages to locate the rest of his pod, and reunites with them, in the process, dropping the camera. Porter rushes back to alert the sheriff about the barrels. Sandy, however becomes concerned that something has happened to Flipper, without informing anyone except Kathy's young son, Marvin, who sets off in the dinghy to find him.

Sandy barely survives an encounter with Dirk Moran's boat, which dismantles the dinghy. He sees an approaching dorsal fin and thinks it is Flipper, but it is actually Scar, a large great hammerhead shark that has been lurking in the island's waters and is said to have taken out a tourist boat. Sandy swims for his life towards Dirk's boat. As Scar is about to attack Sandy, Flipper appears and starts nose-butting him in the gills. There is a harrowing moment when Scar proves stronger than Flipper, but Flipper's dolphin pod comes to his aid in the nick of time and drive Scar away. Dirk Moran is then arrested by the sheriff for illegally dumping toxic waste and attempting to kill Sandy since he knew that he saw them that night.

The next morning, when Sandy's mother and younger sister arrive to pick him up, there is a commotion. It is Flipper, who has come to see Sandy off.

The story begins more than eight years before any other Sin City book takes place, with policeman John Hartigan on his final mission before his forced retirement (he suffers from severe angina). Roark Junior, son of one of the most powerful and corrupt officials in Basin City, is indulging his penchant for raping and murdering pre-pubescent girls. It is Hartigan's mission to rescue Junior's latest quarry, an 11-year-old named Nancy Callahan.

Hartigan succeeds in rescuing Nancy by disabling Junior's getaway car, which was being guarded by Burt Schlubb and Douglas Klump, two guns-for-hire with "delusions of eloquence". Hartigan knocks them out and kills the twin guards Benny and Lenny. He chases the escaping Junior to the pier and then proceeds to use his revolver to surgically shoot off Junior's left ear, right hand, and genitals. Before he can finish Junior off, Hartigan's corrupt partner Bob, who fears angering Senator Roark, shoots Hartigan several times. Hartigan then stalls Bob for as long as he can to save Nancy when backup arrives, going so far as to pull a spare gun and have Bob unload his gun on him. Bob leaves the fallen Hartigan, who passes out with Nancy in his arms.

Roark Jr. lapses into a coma from his injuries, and Senator Roark takes issue with the abuse of his son. Hartigan survives and recovers thanks to the senator, who wants Hartigan to suffer for the rest of his life. He is framed for raping Nancy, branded as a pedophile and sentenced to a lengthy prison term amid a public outcry that brands him one of Sin City's most hated citizens. He remains silent about his pain, knowing that Senator Roark would execute anyone who ever found out the truth. The only one to whom Hartigan speaks in the hospital is Nancy, who sneaks out against her parents' wishes to see the man who saved her. Hartigan tells her to stay away from him, so Nancy tells Hartigan she will write him letters instead. She will sign her name as "Cordelia" to hide her identity. Before leaving, Nancy tells Hartigan she loves him.

After his stint in the hospital, Hartigan is seen tied to a chair, cuffed and being beaten by Det. Liebowitz in order to force him to sign a false confession. Amid the hours of repeated punching and being tempted by prison luxuries and even sex with an Old Town prostitute, Hartigan doesn't crack under the pressure, although he hallucinates that he is granted the strength of Hercules, breaks from his cuffs and kills Liebowitz by exploding his head.

Afterwards, alone in prison and abandoned by his wife Eileen (who remarries and finally has children) and his friends, he finds solace in the carefully disguised weekly letters he receives from Nancy. Hartigan quickly develops a paternal love for young Nancy, and sees her as the daughter he never had. For eight years, he drags himself through his jail time, his only respite the letters his young admirer sends him, until finally the letters stop coming. Although he initially believes Nancy has merely outgrown her childhood hero, Hartigan soon becomes increasingly worried that Senator Roark has finally found her. His fears are confirmed when a deformed, hairless visitor with sickly yellow skin who smells distinctly like garbage arrives at his prison cell and punches him out. Hartigan awakens and discovers the same type of envelope Nancy always uses containing an index finger from the right hand of a 19-year-old girl.

Believing Nancy to be in imminent danger, Hartigan decides to find some way out, and contacts his lawyer, Lucille (the lesbian parole officer from ''The Hard Goodbye''). Much to her surprise and disgust, Hartigan decides to claim responsibility to the crimes of which he was accused. At his parole hearing, he is humiliated again when Senator Roark piously offers to forgive him. Hartigan knows it's a ruse to insult him, but asks Senator Roark for forgiveness in order to win parole. Hartigan is finally released, apparently due to Senator Roark's satisfaction over his confession and submission.

Back on the streets, the now 60-year-old Hartigan sets off to find Nancy. He goes to her apartment, but finds it empty and in disarray. The only clue to her whereabouts is a pack of matches from Kadie's bar. Following the lead, Hartigan discovers that she is now a woman who works in the club as an exotic dancer - and is unharmed. The envelope containing the finger was merely a ploy to lead Roark to Nancy. Hartigan smells a set-up, and something far worse: the distinct odor of rotting garbage. "That Yellow Bastard", the man who arrived at the cell with the envelope, has followed him and found Nancy.

Nancy recognizes Hartigan and jumps into his arms, kissing him. They leave Kadie's and get into her car. There is a high-speed pursuit, with the "Bastard" close on their tail, Hartigan uses Nancy's revolver to fire a precise shot that hits the "Bastard" in the neck. Hartigan insists on stopping to confirm the kill; accompanied by Nancy, he discovers the "Bastard's" foul-smelling blood everywhere, but no body. Eventually, he and Nancy hide out in a motel. There, they share a kiss, where Nancy reveals she is in love with him; but Hartigan refuses to move any further because of his age and the paternalistic nature of his relationship to Nancy. Unknown to them, the "Bastard" has hidden in the backseat of Nancy's car, and emerges while they talk.

Hartigan, in the shower, is ambushed once again by "That Yellow Bastard", who reveals himself to be none other than Roark Junior. Senator Roark used his vast financial resources to resurrect his son using new medical techniques to re-grow his severed body parts. As a result, Junior lives, but with some "side-effects". Junior knocks Hartigan down, attempts to hang him naked with a noose, and boasts of raping and killing dozens of girls over the past eight years. He then taunts Hartigan with the promise that Nancy will suffer the same fate. Roark Jr. kicks the desk out from under Hartigan and escapes with Nancy. '' #6. Art by Frank Miller. Hartigan is shown beating Roark Jr. to death.'' At first, Hartigan resigns himself to death but, in a sudden bout of determination, he revives himself through sheer will, breaks a window and cuts his hands free with a glass shard. Schlubb and Klump arrive to dispose of Hartigan's body, but Hartigan subdues them and forces them to reveal Junior and Nancy's whereabouts. He learns that Junior has fled to the Roark Family Farm (described as "a place where bad things happen").

Racing to the Farm, Hartigan suffers a severe angina attack, but soldiers through the pain. Meanwhile, Nancy is being flogged by Junior but, like Hartigan, resists the urge to scream in order to deny her torturer the satisfaction; she then realizes that Junior is impotent unless he hears his victims scream. Hartigan takes down four other corrupt police officers guarding the Farm and confronts Junior, who by that time has Nancy at knife point. Hartigan fakes a heart attack to catch Junior off guard. He stabs Junior, castrates him (this time with his bare hands), and beats him to death. Nancy and Hartigan share another, more passionate, kiss, and Hartigan tells Nancy to flee, assuring her that he will call up some old police friends of his to clean up the scene of the crime.

After Nancy leaves, Hartigan narrates that he had to lie to her in order to protect her; Senator Roark will want to punish Hartigan for killing his son, and would not hesitate to use Nancy in order to do so. Knowing full well that no sane attorney would try to prosecute Senator Roark, Hartigan realizes that there is only one way to end the entire ordeal. In an act of pure love and sacrifice, Hartigan shoots himself in the head to save Nancy and end Roark's vendetta.

Inside her apartment, a frightened Shellie is comforted by Dwight - with a new face since the events of ''A Dame To Kill For'' - as the drunken Jackie Boy bangs on the door. Dwight tells Shellie to let Jack and his entourage in, confident he can 'handle them'.

Jackie Boy enters and insists Shellie call her fellow barmaids to join his pub crawl but she refuses, and Jack hits her. He goes to the bathroom where Dwight ambushes him with a straight razor and tells him to stop bothering Shellie, dunking his head in the toilet.

Jack storms out with his posse. Shellie finds Dwight on the ledge outside the building; determined to stop Jack from causing more trouble, Dwight pursues him, ignoring Shellie's muffled yell that sounds like "Stop!".

Speeding after Jack's car, Dwight catches the attention of police, who follow them to the border of Old Town, the area of Sin City populated by prostitutes. Walking alone, Becky rejects Jack’s request for her services. In pursuit, Dwight meets Gail, one of Old Town's most experienced hookers and guardians, who advises him to let the girls handle Jack themselves. Spotting Miho on the roof, he agrees.

When Jack pulls a handgun on Becky, Miho throws a Manji-shaped shuriken that cuts off Jack's hand, then descends on the car and kills his entourage. Jack aims his gun at Miho, who throws a plug into the barrel. Jack tries to shoot Dwight and the gun shatters, embedding the slide into his forehead. Miho finishes him off by slicing his neck, making "a Pez dispenser out of him".

As the girls loot the corpses, Dwight finds Jack’s police badge, revealing him to be Detective Lieutenant "Iron" Jack Rafferty - he realizes that Shellie had screamed "COP!" As Jack’s death would break Old Town’s shaky truce with the police, Dwight recommends disposing of the bodies in the tar pits.

The bodies are sliced up to fit in the trunk of a car, leaving Jack in the passenger seat, and Dwight begins the rainy drive to the Pits. He is taunted by Jack’s corpse and is pulled over by police, who let him off with a warning for a broken taillight.

At the Tar Pits, Dwight is attacked by Irish mercenaries and is seemingly killed by a shot to the chest. The mercenaries finds Jackie Boy's badge, having stopped the bullet, and Dwight disposes of several of them but is knocked into the pits with the sinking car. A mercenary removes Jackie Boy's head as proof of his murder, and leaves Dwight for dead. Miho rescues Dwight, and he deduces that an informant in Old Town has told the mob of Jack’s death. Dwight takes off with Miho and her driver, Dallas, in pursuit of the remaining mercenaries.

In Old Town, Gail is kidnapped and tortured by Manute, having survived his previous encounter with Dwight and Miho. Gail refuses to "facilitate" the process of surrendering Old Town; she learns Becky has sold them out, and bites a chunk off of her neck.

Dwight recalls the Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas defeated his enemies in a narrow trap (a story Miller would later tell in ''300''). They catch up to their targets in the Projects. Dallas rams the car into the mercenaries' and is gunned down. Dwight corners the last mercenary, Brian, in the sewers, but is caught off guard by grenades until Miho kills Brian. Recovering the head, they return to Old Town.

As the gangsters prepare to further torture Gail and kill Becky, Miho shoots a henchmen with an arrow bearing a note, offering to trade Jack's head for Gail's life.

The gangsters find Dwight alone in a narrow alley. He hands over the head and takes Gail, then triggers a grenade taped inside Jack’s mouth.

The gangsters realize their fatal mistake as the heavily armed girls of Old Town appear on the rooftops, opening fire until, in Dwight's words, "the things we're pumping bullets into are nothing but twisted toppling screaming smudges of movement."

Shot in a docudrama style (with captions identifying the different participants), the film opens in the days leading up to D-Day, concentrating on events on both sides of the English channel. The Allies wait for a break in the poor weather while anticipating the reaction of the Axis forces defending northern France. As Supreme Commander of SHAEF, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower makes the decision to go after reviewing the initial bad weather reports and the reports about the divisions within the German High Command as to where an invasion might happen and what should be their response.

Multiple scenes document the early hours of June 6: Allied airborne troops being sent in to take key locations inland, away from the beaches, and the French resistance reaction to the news that the invasion has started. Also chronicled are important events surrounding D-Day: British troops' glider missions to secure Pegasus Bridge, the counterattacks launched by American paratroopers scattered around Sainte-Mère-Église, the infiltration and sabotage work conducted by the French resistance and SOE agents, and the response by the ''Wehrmacht'' to the invasion. Also shown is the uncertainty of German commanders regarding whether this is a feint in preparation for Allied crossings at the Strait of Dover (see Operation Fortitude), where the senior German staff had always assumed that the invasion would begin.

Set-piece scenes include the parachute drop into Sainte-Mère-Église, the advance inshore from the Normandy beaches, the U.S. Provisional Ranger Group's assault on the Pointe du Hoc, the attack on Ouistreham by Free French Forces, and the strafing of the beaches by two lone ''Luftwaffe'' pilots. The film concludes with a montage showing various Allied units consolidating their beachheads before they advance inland by crossing France to eventually reach Germany.

The film begins in March 1836 in the town of San Antonio de Bexar, showing the aftermath of the Battle of the Alamo. The film then flashes back to a year earlier. Sam Houston attends a party where he tries to persuade people to migrate to Texas and encounters David Crockett, recently defeated in his bid for re-election to Congress. In San Felipe, Texas, the Texas provisional government is meeting to discuss what action to take after the capture of the Alamo and Bexar by the Texans in the recent fighting. Texas has rebelled against Mexico, and its dictatorial president Santa Anna is personally leading one wing of his army to retake San Antonio, then invade the settlements and put an end to the rebellion. Various selfish members of the Texan War Party call for the Texas army to depart Bexar, cross into Mexico and capture the town of Matamoros. The more sensible Opposition Party seeks to rebuild the Texan army and establish a permanent government.

The provisional government votes out Sam Houston as commander of the Texas army; a disgusted Houston tells Jim Bowie to go to San Antonio, destroy the fortifications (including the Alamo) and retreat eastward. The Texas government then orders William Barret Travis to Bexar, where Col. Neil, the Alamo's commander, gives Travis command of the post as Neil must leave to take care of a family emergency before returning with reinforcements. Travis, knowing that the Alamo's small force cannot withstand the Mexican Army, sends couriers with pleas for reinforcements. As small groups of Texans arrive, Travis oversees defense preparations, hoping that enough reinforcements will arrive before the inevitable final assault.

Crockett, coming to Texas to revive his political career, arrives in San Antonio, is surprised to learn that the fighting isn't over, and that Santa Anna and his army aren't expected until perhaps mid-March. But after a grueling forced march, Santa Anna unexpectedly arrives on Feb. 23, forcing the Texans to hurriedly retire to the Alamo compound. Despite its vulnerability, the Texans resume fortifying it as best they can. Travis continues to send for reinforcements, but few men arrive.

Santa Anna's troops surround the fort, and the siege begins. Bowie meets with Mexican General Manuel Castrillón to talk things over, but Travis stubbornly fires a cannon at the Mexican camp, abruptly ending their conversation. Bowie returns to tell Travis that Santa Anna has offered the opportunity to surrender, but the defenders decide to stay and fight. With his hopes of an easy victory foiled, Santa Anna settles in for a siege but orders that no quarter be given to the Alamo defenders. Bowie's ongoing illness renders him bedridden, and Travis assumes full command.

On Sunday, March 6, Mexican troops assault the Alamo's walls in a pre-dawn attack. Despite heavy casualties, they breach the walls and most of the Texans, including Travis and Bowie, are slain in the onslaught. Crockett and the last remaining defenders retreat to the church for a last stand. Crockett is taken prisoner, and in a final act of defiance he mockingly offers to safely lead Santa Anna to Sam Houston. Santa Anna angrily orders Crockett to be executed.

Days later, after hearing that the Alamo has fallen, Houston, now in full command of all Texan troops, orders a general retreat eastward. They are pursued by the victorious Mexican Army, led by the confident Santa Anna. In an attempt to catch the retreating Texans, and against the advice of his officers, Santa Anna divides his forces, taking a smaller, fast-moving force with him to chase Houston and the fleeing Texas government. A few weeks later, Houston halts his retreat near the San Jacinto, where he decides to risk all in a sudden attack when he learns of Santa Anna's presence. With the support of two cannons and a group of Juan Seguin's mounted Tejanos, Houston surprises Santa Anna's army during its afternoon siesta, and in the ensuing rout the vengeful Texans massacre at least seven hundred Mexican soldiers and capture Santa Anna. In exchange for his life, Santa Anna agrees to order all Mexican troops to withdraw from Texas and accept Texan independence. The film ends with an eerie replay of Crockett standing atop the Alamo's South wall, playing his fiddle while overlooking the compound.

The film depicts the Battle of the Alamo and the events leading up to it. Sam Houston leads the forces of Texas against Mexico and needs time to build an army. The opposing Mexican forces, led by General Santa Anna, are numerically stronger as well as better-armed and -trained. Nevertheless, the Texans have spirit and morale remains generally high. Lieutenant Colonel William Travis is tasked with defending the Alamo, a former mission in San Antonio. Jim Bowie comes with reinforcements and the defenders prepare. Meanwhile, Davy Crockett arrives with a group of Tennesseans.

Santa Anna's armies arrive and surround the fort. The siege begins. An embassy from the Mexican Army approaches the Alamo, and as they list the terms of surrender, Travis fires a cannon, signalling his refusal to surrender. In a nighttime raid, the Texans sabotage a super-sized cannon used by the Mexicans. They maintain high hopes as they are told a strong force led by Colonel James Fannin is on its way to break the siege. Crockett, however, sensing an imminent attack, sends one of his younger men, Smitty, to ask Houston for help, knowing this will perhaps save Smitty's life.

The Mexicans frontally attack the Alamo. The defenders hold out and inflict heavy losses on the Mexicans, although the Texans' own losses are not insignificant, and Bowie sustains a leg wound. Morale drops when a messenger informs Travis that Fannin's reinforcements have been ambushed and slaughtered by the Mexicans. Travis chooses to stay with his command and defend the Alamo, but he gives the other defenders the option of leaving. Crockett, Bowie and their men prepare to leave, but an inspired tribute by Travis convinces them to stay and fight to the end. The noncombatants, including most of the women and children, leave the Alamo.

On the thirteenth day of the siege, Santa Anna's artillery bombards the Alamo, and the entire Mexican army sweeps forward, attacking on all sides. The defenders kill numerous Mexicans, but the attack is overwhelming and the fortress' walls are breached. Travis tries to rally the men, but is shot and killed. Crockett leads the Texans in the final defense of the fort, but the Mexicans swarm through and overwhelm the defenders. Crockett is killed in the chaos when he is run through by a lance and then blown up as he ignites the powder magazine. Bowie, in bed with his wound, kills several Mexicans but is bayoneted and dies. As the last Texan is killed, the Mexican soldiers discover the hiding place of the wife and child of Texan defender Captain Dickinson.

The battle eventually ends with a total victory for the Mexicans. Santa Anna observes the carnage and provides safe passage for Mrs. Dickinson and her child. Smitty returns too late, watching from a distance. He takes off his hat in respect and then escorts Mrs. Dickinson away from the battlefield.

The subplot follows the conflict existing among the strong-willed personalities of Travis, Bowie, and Crockett. Travis stubbornly defends his decisions as commander of the garrison against the suggestions of the other two - particularly Bowie with whom the most bitter conflict develops - as well as trying to maintain discipline among a force made up primarily of independently minded frontiersmen and settlers. Crockett, well liked by both Bowie and Travis, eventually becomes a mediator between the other two as Bowie constantly threatens to withdraw his men rather than deal with Travis. Despite their personal conflicts, all three learn to subordinate their differences, and in the end, bind themselves together in an act of bravery to defend the fort against inevitable defeat.

In the future, the world is divided between those who live "inside", in high-density cities, and the underclass who live "outside." Access to the cities is highly restricted and regulated through the use of health documents, known as "papeles" in the global pidgin language of the day.

William Geld, an insurance fraud investigator, is sent to Shanghai to interview employees at a company known as "The Sphinx", which manufactures the papeles. William's assignment is to identify employees who are suspected of forging "covers". After interviewing numerous Sphinx employees, he identifies a young worker named Maria Gonzalez as the forger. William is captivated by her, and instead of turning her over to security, he identifies another employee as the forger. William then meets up with Maria and they begin an affair. As Maria sleeps, William finds a forged cover in her room and takes it.

William is reprimanded for not discovering the true Sphinx forger. He requests that someone else be sent, as there may have been an accomplice to the innocent man he fingered. However, he is ordered to deal with the problem and to return to Shanghai.

Upon his return, William discovers that Maria's apartment is abandoned and the only clue is a medical clinic appointment. He visits the clinic and learns that Maria was pregnant and that the pregnancy was terminated due to a violation of Code 46. William knows that this means Maria is somehow genetically related to him, but he has no idea how.

William discovers that Maria has been taken to have her memory of the episode erased. He gets the clinic to release Maria into his care by telling them she is a witness in his fraud investigation. After she is released, William tells her about the memory erasure and about how he didn't report her for fraud. Maria is disturbed by this information and becomes very distressed. William gives her a sleeping pill and, while she is sleeping, he cuts some hair from her head and takes it to a facility providing instant DNA analysis. He discovers that Maria is a biological clone of his mother. William decides to go home to his family, but is not allowed to do so, as his 24-hour cover has expired.

William then realises that his only hope of returning home is to get a papel from Maria. She goes to work to obtain a papel, but is unable to forge one herself, as she was moved to another area of work, so a co-worker makes the cover for her. While taking a train to meet William, her memory returns and she recalls her feelings for William. He decides not to leave her.

William and Maria then travel to Jebel Ali in the UAE, which does not require special travel clearance. The two hide out in the old city where they book a room. William reveals to Maria that, in addition to the memory wiping, she has been given a virus that induces an adrenaline rush in response to physical contact with the person who brought about the Code 46 violation. He refrains from telling her the virus will also force her to report the further Code 46 violation to the authorities. They rent an old car and travel away to escape the authorities who are tracking them. William crashes the car while avoiding a collision with camels and pedestrians and they are both knocked unconscious.

William awakes in the hospital in Seattle with his wife and child. He has no memory of Maria or the Code 46 violation, as all memories of her and their time together have been replaced with memories of a successful investigation. Maria is more severely punished by being exiled "outside," to the desert. Her memories of William are altered to make them stronger, even as she is forced to live without him.

César (Charles Boyer) is a barkeeper in Marseille in the early 1920s. His 18-year-old son Marius (Horst Buchholz) works for him at his bar, but wants nothing more than to go to sea and leave his boring existence behind. The only thing holding him back is Fanny (Leslie Caron), an 18-year-old girl with whom he grew up. Fanny works selling fish with her mother down at the waterfront. Fanny has been in love with Marius her whole life. She flirts with him, but Marius always rejects her.

Fanny invites Marius to a Sunday-night dance, but he rejects her once more. Unbeknownst to Fanny, Marius is planning to leave the next day. Encouraged by his friend, the “Admiral” (Raymond Bussieres), he has secretly signed on as a sailor on a round-the-world scientific expedition. Offended, Fanny leaves.

Meanwhile, elderly merchant Panisse (Maurice Chevalier) asks to meet with Fanny's mother Honorine (Georgette Anys), who believes he wants to propose to her. To Honorine's surprise, Panisses wants to marry Fanny, even though he knows she loves someone else. Although disappointed, Honorine does not object: Panisse is worth 600,000 francs.

Fanny tells Marius that she has rejected Panisse's proposal because she loves him and is willing to wait until he returns. Marius tells her he will be away for five years and to forget about him. They declare their love for each other and go to Fanny's house, where they are alone.

The following morning, Honorine discovers Fanny and Marius in bed together. She and César begin to plan their children's wedding, but Fanny urges Marius to leave. She even lies to him, telling him that she would rather marry a rich man like Panisse than him. But, in truth, she is afraid that, eventually, he will grow to hate her for depriving him of this great opportunity.

About two months after Marius goes off to sea, Fanny discovers that she is pregnant with his child. She tells Panisse, who is happy to marry her anyway, overjoyed by the possibility of a male heir to carry on his name. They marry, and Fanny gives birth to a boy. César, knowing the baby's true father, collaborates with Panisse to give the baby the name Césario Marius Panisse.

On Césario's first birthday, Panisse takes the train to Paris on business. While he is gone, Marius returns, on a short leave. He visits Fanny, and upon learning her child is his, apologizes to Fanny. He knows now that she said those things only to make him go. Marius tells her that he wants her back, but César comes in before anything can happen. Panisse arrives home early. Knowing that Fanny will not leave without the boy, he says that he will not try to stop Fanny from going with Marius, but he will not part with the child. Fanny tells Marius she loves him, but she will not take Césario from Panisse. Marius leaves without Fanny or his child.

Ten years later, Césario (Joel Flateau) is looking forward to his birthday party. After being taken to the waterfront, Césario wanders off and meets the Admiral. The Admiral takes the boy sailing without telling anyone and reunites him with Marius, though Césario has no idea who Marius is. Marius, who is now working in a garage, is overjoyed to see his son, but when Panisse is told the boy is missing, he is stricken and taken to his room. Fanny is shocked to find Césario with his father. She announces that Panisse is dying, and Marius drives them home.

When they arrive at the house, Panisse calls for Césario to sit with him. Fanny goes outside and talks with Cesar and Marius. Marius expresses his bitterness and announces his plans to leave for the United States the next day. Fanny explains to Marius that she never told him about the baby because on the day he left, she hoped he would turn around and not get on the boat. When he did not, she felt betrayed and angry. Fanny goes to Panisse. On his deathbed, Panisse dictates a letter asking Marius to marry Fanny and be a father to Césario. His only request is that the boy keep the last name, Panisse.

''Ben-Hur'' is a story of a fictional hero named Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman who was falsely accused and convicted of an attempted assassination of the Roman governor of Judaea and consequently enslaved by the Romans. He becomes a successful charioteer.Morsberger and Morsberger, p. 298.Miller, p. 155. The story's revenge plot becomes a story of compassion and forgiveness.

The novel is divided into eight books, or parts, each with its own subchapters. Book one opens with the story of the three magi, who arrive in Bethlehem to hear the news of Christ's birth. Readers meet the fictional character of Judah for the first time in book two, when his childhood friend Messala, also a fictional character, returns to Jerusalem as an ambitious commanding officer of the Roman legions. The teen-aged boys come to realize that they have changed and hold very different views and aspirations. When a loose tile is accidentally dislodged from the roof of Judah's house during a military parade and strikes the Roman governor, knocking him from his horse, Messala falsely accuses Judah of attempted assassination. Although Judah is not guilty and receives no trial, he is sent to the Roman galleys for life, his mother and sister are imprisoned in a Roman jail where they contract leprosy, and all the family property is confiscated. Judah first encounters Jesus, who offers him a drink of water and encouragement, as Judah is being marched to a galley to be a slave. Their lives continue to intersect as the story unfolds.

In book three, Judah survives his ordeal as a galley slave through good fortune, which includes befriending and saving the commander of his ship, who later adopts him. Judah goes on to become a trained soldier and charioteer. In books four and five, Judah returns home to Jerusalem to seek revenge and redemption for his family.

After witnessing the Crucifixion, Judah recognizes that Christ's life stands for a goal quite different from revenge. Judah becomes Christian, inspired by love and the talk of keys to a kingdom greater than any on Earth. The novel concludes with Judah's decision to finance the Catacomb of San Calixto in Rome, where Christian martyrs are to be buried and venerated.

Ben-Hur is a wealthy young Jewish prince and boyhood friend of the powerful Roman tribune, Messala. When an accident and a false accusation leads to Ben-Hur's arrest, Messala, who has become corrupt and arrogant, makes sure Ben-Hur and his family are jailed and separated.

Ben-Hur is sentenced to slave labor in a Roman war galley. Along the way, he unknowingly encounters Jesus, the carpenter's son who offers him water. Once aboard ship, his attitude of defiance and strength impresses a Roman admiral, Quintus Arrius, who allows him to remain unchained. This actually works in the admiral's favor because when his ship is attacked and sunk by pirates, Ben-Hur saves him from drowning.

Arrius then treats Ben-Hur as a son, and over the years the young man grows strong and becomes a victorious chariot racer. This eventually leads to a climactic showdown with Messala in a chariot race, in which Ben-Hur is the victor. However, Messala does not die, as he does in the more famous 1959 adaptation of the novel.

Ben-Hur is eventually reunited with his mother and sister, who have developed leprosy but are miraculously cured by Jesus Christ.

In the Prologue, a baby is born in Bethlehem among the shepherds and visited by Magi in a cave.

In A.D. 26, Judah Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem, living with his mother, Miriam, and his sister, Tirzah. The family's loyal slave, the merchant Simonides, pays a visit with his daughter, Esther. Seeing each other for the first time since childhood, Judah and Esther fall in love, but she is betrothed to another. After several years away from Jerusalem, Judah's childhood friend Messala returns as commander of the Fortress of Antonia. Messala believes in the glory of Rome and its imperial power, while Judah is devoted to his faith and the freedom of the Jewish people. This difference causes tension between the friends, and results in their split after Messala issues an ultimatum demanding that Judah deliver potential rebels to the Roman authorities.

During a parade for the new governor of Judea, Valerius Gratus, loose tiles fall from the roof of Judah's house. Gratus is thrown from his horse and nearly killed. Although Messala knows this was an accident, he condemns Judah to the galleys and imprisons Miriam and Tirzah. Simonides confronts Messala and is also imprisoned. Judah swears revenge upon Messala. As he and other slaves are marched to the galleys, they stop in Nazareth to water the Romans' horses. Judah begs for water, but the commander of the Roman detachment denies it to him. Judah collapses, but is revived when Jesus gives him water.

After three years as a galley slave, Judah is assigned to the flagship of the Roman Consul Quintus Arrius, who has been charged with destroying a fleet of Macedonian pirates. Arrius admires Judah's determination and self-discipline, and offers to train him as a gladiator or charioteer. Judah declines the offer. When the Roman fleet encounters the Macedonians, Arrius exempts Judah, among all the rowers, from being chained to the ship. Arrius' galley is rammed and sunk, but Judah frees as many other rowers as he can and rescues Arrius. Arrius believes he has lost the battle and attempts to fall on his sword, but Judah stops him. After they are rescued, Arrius is told his fleet had won a decisive victory. Arrius petitions Emperor Tiberius to free Judah, and adopts him as his son.

Judah becomes a champion charioteer, then returns to Judea. Along the way, he meets Balthasar and Arab Sheik Ilderim. After noting Judah's prowess as a charioteer, the sheik asks him to drive his ''quadriga'' in a race before the new governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Judah declines, even after learning that Messala will compete. Judah returns to Jerusalem. He finds Esther and learns she is not married and that she still loves him. Miriam and Tirzah contracted leprosy in prison and were expelled from the city. The women beg Esther to conceal their condition from Judah, so Esther tells Judah they died. Judah smashes his family's mezuzah, then seeks revenge by competing against Messala in the chariot race. Sheik Ilderim goads Messala into making an enormous wager on himself.

During the race, Messala drives a chariot with blades on the hubs to disable his competitors. He attempts to destroy Judah's chariot, but wrecks his own instead. He is dragged behind his horses and trampled by another chariot, while Judah wins the race. Before dying, Messala tells Judah to search for his family in the Valley of the Lepers.

Judah visits the leper colony, where he confronts Esther while she delivers supplies to his mother and sister. Esther convinces Judah to not see them. Judah visits Pilate and rejects his patrimony and Roman citizenship. He returns with Esther to the leper colony, reveals himself to Miriam and learns that Tirzah is dying. Judah and Esther take Miriam and her daughter to see Jesus, but the trial of Jesus has begun. As Jesus is carrying his cross through the streets, he collapses. Judah recognizes him as the man who gave him water years before, and reciprocates. As Judah witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus, Miriam and Tirzah are miraculously healed.

In a prologue set in Paris in the year 1924, a young 14-year-old Gilda Bessé, the daughter of a French aristocrat and an emotionally unstable American mother, is reluctantly told by a fortune teller that the life line on her palm doesn't extend past the age of 34. Fast forward to a rainy night in 1933, when Gilda stumbles into the room of Guy Malyon, an Irishman who is a first-year scholarship student at Cambridge University. She has had a lover's quarrel with one of the dons, and rather than turn her out into the storm, Guy gallantly allows her to spend the night. Later, they become lovers, but the two are separated when Gilda's mother dies and she opts to leave England. A few years later, Guy sees her as an extra in a Hollywood film, and shortly after he coincidentally receives a letter from her inviting him to visit her in Paris, where she is working as a photographer.

Guy discovers that Gilda is living with the Spanish-born nursing student/model Mia and has a lover, whom she quickly discards when Guy moves in. The trio are enjoying their unusual living arrangement, but world events are beginning to affect their existence. It is the height of the Spanish Civil War, and idealistic Guy, a long-time supporter of the army of the Second Spanish Republic, is determined to do what he can to help them as Francisco Franco's nationalists gain strength. Mia, too, is anxious to come to the aid of her native land. Gilda, however, has no interest in politics or anything else that might disrupt her life of luxury, and pleads with the two to ignore the conflict, but they feel compelled to act and depart for Spain.

By January 1938, Guy becomes a soldier, while Mia becomes a nurse and tends to the wounded. They cross paths one night and, before sleeping with Guy, Mia confesses she was Gilda's lover. In the morning, her ambulance is destroyed by a land mine resulting in Mia's death as well as the ambulance driver. A few months later in July 1938, Guy returns to Paris, where he is ignored by Gilda, who feels his abandonment of her was a form of betrayal.

Six years later, Guy is working as a spy with the underground in occupied Paris under the auspices of British intelligence. He learns that Gilda has taken Nazi Major Franz Bietrich as a lover and visits her in their old apartment, where the two make love. The following morning she tells him their affair is over and the two can never see each other again. D-Day is approaching, and Guy throws himself into his work. One day he arrives at a café to meet a contact, but instead is approached by Gilda, who has overheard her German lover plotting a trap and has come to help him escape in cleric's clothing she has concealed in the restaurant's washroom. That night, he and his associates destroy a rail station, but only Guy manages to elude the German soldiers.

Guy returns to London, where he discovers Gilda joined the Resistance a few years earlier. With the occupation of Paris having come to an end, he realizes that the locals, who had long regarded Gilda as a Nazi sympathizer and traitor, will seek revenge. As he returns to Paris to find her, Guy is unaware that Bietrich has been killed in Gilda's apartment and that she has been taken captive by a mob intent on avenging the deaths of their loved ones. She is finally killed, off-camera, by a local youth to avenge the death of his sister. The movie ends with Guy in Gilda's ransacked apartment reading the last letter written by her to him.

Timoteo, a surgeon, gets the shocking news that his fifteen-year-old daughter Angela has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. As she is operated upon, Timoteo looks out of a window to see (or imagines seeing) a woman, her back facing him, proceeding to sit down on a chair in the rain outside. He notices her prominent red heels and turns away in disbelief, indicating he was familiar with them. His subsequent reminiscences about an old affair comprise the remainder of the film.

A subsequent scene shows Timoteo sitting in a bar in an unfamiliar location on a hot day. Italia, a woman of Albanian origin working at the bar and wearing red heels, offers to let him make a seemingly important call from her home. The inebriated Timoteo, having entered her flat, rapes Italia and subsequently pretends to fall in love with her. He learns from her, among other things, she was sexually abused in her childhood by a dress salesman (who is later revealed to be her father). He decides to leave his wife Elsa and conveys this to Italia but, just as he is about to come clean, he discovers that Elsa is pregnant. Meanwhile, Italia also becomes pregnant with his child. Timoteo, now in a real dilemma, cannot gather the courage to confront Elsa in her condition. Italia, unaware of this, interprets Timoteo's hesitation as a lack of commitment on his part and is heartbroken by this perceived betrayal. Later, Timoteo encounters a seemingly unstable Italia dancing frenziedly outside her house. On his chiding her, Italia tells him agitatedly that she has had their child aborted at a nearby gypsy's, adding bitterly it was for the best as she would not have made a good mother anyway. Greatly disturbed by this development, Timoteo leaves and goes home to his pregnant wife.

Some months later, Timoteo, shopping with his wife who is about to deliver, spots Italia in a crowd and rushes after her in the rain. After catching up with her, he profusely apologises to Italia, asking her forgiveness for all the pain he caused. After reacting violently initially, Italia tells him that she knew now why he could not leave his wife and that she understood. He also learns from her that she would be moving to another town shortly.

Next morning, Timoteo offers to drive Italia down to her new town. During the journey, his feelings for Italia grow stronger and he confesses his desire to marry and settle down with her in the new town. While having dinner, Timoteo marries himself off to Italia and refers to her as "my wife" while speaking to a waitress. That night, he is woken by Italia's screams as she is gripped by unbearable pain in her abdomen. She is rushed to the local hospital, where an ultrasound reveals her belly to be full of blood, indicating a botched abortion. A desperate Timoteo then proceeds to operate on Italia. She dies soon after briefly regaining consciousness.

His recollections are interrupted by a nurse who informs him that his daughter's condition has stabilised. He then visits her with his wife. The lady who was shown in the beginning, sitting with her back towards Timoteo is reflected in her hand mirror. She appears to be smiling and has resemblance to Italia.

In the final act, a relieved Timoteo takes out Italia's red shoe, which she had lost on the way to the hospital the day she died, and that the funeral company had refused to put in the closed coffin, and which he had carefully preserved, and kisses it as a gesture of thanks. He takes the single shoe out of his locker room and places it on the exact spot where he had imagined seeing the woman resembling Italia, as if he is returning Italia's shoes to her.

In July 2005, LAPD SWAT executes a search warrant at the home of Martin Brenner, a suspected freeway sniper. Afterwards, they go up against the domestic terrorist organization "Sovereign America" with an arrest warrant served on one of their members, Victor Getts, a former EOD technician suspected of vehicular manslaughter and bomb making.

The bombing of the Turkish consulate, and kidnap of ambassador Jemil Kemal introduces the Kurdish People's Party. This is followed by an invasion of the home of Donald Foreman, CEO of a large cable provider by a heavily armed group, holding Foreman, his wife Linda, and his two children for ransom.

The Orthodox patriarch Alexei III and his retinue are held in an orthodox cathedral by an armed group is the first incident connected to the treaty signing, as the bishop is visiting Los Angeles to attend the signing. Matters are complicated by the private security team hired to protect Alexei. This security team provide an unknown variable. They may either attack the SWAT team or the terrorists.

The downing of the aircraft of the Algerian president by a surface-to-air missile becomes a serious international incident and marks the entrance of the People's Liberation Party. The resulting chaos caused by the shutdown of LAX has created a significant number of vulnerable targets for more missiles, including the airplane of Russian president, Igor Stomas. The missile is traced to a waterworks construction site, and SWAT is dispatched to investigate. Soon after, the PLP storms a television studio during an afternoon talk show, holding LA Mayor Marlin Fitzpatrick, Tolerance Defense League Chairman Herman Moyer, host Donna Briggs and many members of the audience and station staff hostage. The group demands an international broadcast of their message of Soviet reunification.

SWAT's next task is serving an arrest warrant for Ric Peters at his nightclub, The Phoenix Lounge, after he and Malta are finally identified as the group responsible for both the Foreman home invasion and cathedral incident. They also have to respond to a failed bank heist by Sovereign America, who have wounded an off-duty policeman and barricaded themselves in the bank.

The People's Liberation Party again targets President Stomas at his penthouse suite at the Carlysle Hotel, demanding a flight to Moscow with the intention of taking Stomas with them.

In the final run up to the treaty signing, SWAT is given VIP protection duty for dignitaries at a pre-signing meeting at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The day goes smoothly until multiple armed terrorists attempt to disrupt this meeting, holding several important politicians hostage.

The People's Liberation Party strike again after the convention center incident in another attempt to disrupt the treaty signing, creating a national emergency by taking over the LAX control tower, broadcasting false Air Traffic Control information (resulting in a midair collision) and installing another surface-to-air missile launcher at the top of the tower, threatening aircraft carrying dignitaries headed to the treaty signing. Air Force One is briefly in the area but is diverted quickly to Edwards Air Force Base. Despite danger to the President of the United States being averted, there are many more civilian planes waiting to be diverted to other airports following the FAA's closure of LAX after the earlier collision. SWAT storms the tower from the basement and soon restores order.

SWAT is required for VIP protection duty at a World Trade Organization conference at the Ventura Hotel, accompanying the treaty signing. Death threats have been received by some of the attendees from various militia factions, and several militia men storm the building and are defeated by SWAT. This is followed shortly afterwards by the bombing of an electric substation leaving most of LA without power, save for Municipal buildings with backup generators. This was apparently a diversion, to allow Sovereign America forces led by Tobias Stromm himself to take over City Hall, for what Stromm calls an "end of the world vigil". It transpires that Sovereign America was the winner of the auction for one of the suitcase nukes, now installed and guarded by Stromm at the top of the tower, and Sovereign America intends to destroy the entire city in a last stand, but SWAT breaks the siege, defuses the nuke, and captures Stromm and his gunmen.

During the final preparations for the treaty signing, and the celebrations afterward, suspicious personnel are observed entering the storm drain system near UCLA, where a parade is supposed to pass, carrying heavy equipment and overheard talking about demolitions. The storm drain system had already been cleared once by the police - after being alerted to these developments, SWAT is sent in to investigate, neutralizing a mysterious armed group disguised as maintenance workers.

Finally, SWAT is tasked with protecting the treaty signing. In a last-ditch attempt to stop the signing, the People's Liberation Party attack, hiding a second suitcase nuke in the building and taking many dignitaries hostage. Despite this, with the intervention of SWAT, the treaty signing is completed successfully (mission failure results in the nuclear destruction of Los Angeles).

The demon Mephisto has a bet with an Archangel that he can corrupt a righteous man's soul and destroy in him what is divine. If he succeeds, the Devil will win dominion over earth.

The Devil delivers a plague to the village where Faust, an elderly alchemist, lives. Though he prays to stop the death and starvation, nothing happens. Disheartened, Faust throws his alchemy books in the fire, and then the Bible too. One book opens, showing how to have power and glory by making a pact with the Devil. He goes to a crossroads as described in the book's procedure and conjures up the forces of evil. When Mephisto appears at the roadside, he induces Faust to make a trial, 24-hour bargain with the Devil. Faust will have Mephisto's service till the sand runs out in an hourglass, at which time the Devil will rescind the pact. At first, Faust uses his new power to help the people of the village, but they shun him when they find out that he cannot face a cross. They stone him and he takes shelter in his home.

Faust then makes a further deal with Mephisto, who gives Faust back his youth and offers him earthly pleasures and a kingdom, in return for his immortal soul. Mephisto tempts Faust with the vision of a beautiful woman. He then takes him to a wedding feast in Parma, to meet the subject of his vision, an Italian Duchess. Faust departs with her, leaving the Devil to kill her groom. Just as Faust is making love to her the sands run out. He is obliged to seal the deal permanently in order to continue his love-making; he is Mephisto's forever.

Faust soon grows weary of debauchery and yearns for "Home". Here Faust falls in love with an innocent girl, Gretchen, who is charmed into loving Faust by a golden chain left by the Devil.

Faust comes to Gretchen's room. The devil rouses the mother who sees them and drops dead from shock. The devil then incites her soldier brother, Valentin, to run home to catch her lover. Valentin and Faust fight a duel. The Devil intervenes and stabs Valentin in the back. He then goes around town shouting "murder". Faust and Mephisto flee on the back of a hellish steed.

Valentin condemns Faust for his murder and his sister as a harlot in his dying breath. She is put in the stocks and subjected to jeering. The girl has a child (by Faust) and ends up in the streets. In a blizzard she sees a vision of a warm cradle and lays her child down on the snow, where the child dies. Soldiers find her and she is sent to the stake as a murderess. Faust sees what is happening and demands Mephisto take him there. Faust arrives just as the fire has been started to burn his lover. Faust wishes he had never asked to have his youth back. Mephisto smashes the mirror with Faust's reflection and he loses his youth. He runs through the assembled mob towards Gretchen; and it is as an old man that Faust throws himself onto the fire to be with his beloved.

Gretchen recognizes Faust and sees him in her heart as a young man again as the fire consumes them together. Their spirits rise to the heavens. The angel reveals to Mephisto that he has lost the bet because Love has triumphed over all.

Principal Skinner sends the Springfield Elementary students on a "go to work with your parents day" (a low-rate version of Work Experience and made up on the fly), after several administrative errors force him to go on his spring break vacation earlier than he planned. Unable to stay home with Marge because school forms state that homemaker is not a "real job", Bart goes to the DMV with Patty and Selma, and Lisa goes to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with Homer. At the DMV, Bart makes himself a fake driver's license, which he, Nelson, Martin, and Milhouse use to rent a car. They include Martin in their plans after learning that he earned some money by investing in shares.

Using an alibi concocted by Bart, the boys tell their parents they are travelling to the National Grammar Rodeo in Canada. After travelling aimlessly for a while, they decide to use the rented car for a road trip to the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. Once they arrive, they discover the fair was held fourteen years earlier; all that remains is a wig outlet. The boys each buy a wig and Martin spends the last of their money on an Al Gore doll. When Nelson accidentally knocks the Sunsphere (renamed the Wigsphere) on their car, crushing it, they are left stranded.

Bart places a collect call to Lisa — who has spent the entire spring break with Homer at work — to help him return home while concealing the ordeal from their parents. On her advice, Bart becomes a courier. However, as he fails to earn enough money to get home and as none of his assignments get him anywhere near Springfield (his first involving flying organ transplants to Hong Kong), Bart again asks Lisa for help. After making Homer promise he will not get upset, Lisa reveals Bart's predicament. To get Bart home, Homer orders equipment for the power plant from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, pouring cola over his work station in order to justify it. He ships it from nearby Knoxville, with Bart as the courier and the boys stowed inside the crate.

While Lisa and Homer quietly fume at Bart at the dinner table, Marge remains clueless about his misadventures. At night, Marge receives telephone calls alluding to Bart's mishaps from Principal Skinner (who spotted him in Hong Kong), the Tennessee State Police, and the courier service. Homer nervously ducks under the covers and quietly laughs as Marge remains oblivious.

In the 1890s American West, outlaws Bill Bowdre, Jesse Coe, and Tom Fitch rob, torture and brutally kill the white father and Kiowa mother of young Max Sand. Max sets out to avenge their deaths.

While traveling in the desert, Max uncovers a rusty old gun. Coming upon Jonas Cord, a traveling gunsmith, Max tries to rob him. Cord, recognizing that Max's revolver is non-functional, convinces Max he has failed. Max tells Cord about his vengeful journey. Cord, sympathetic, shelters him and teaches him to shoot. Max hunts the killers, who have since separated. He tracks down Jesse Coe to Abilene, Texas. With help from Neesa, a Kiowa dance hall girl, he confronts Coe in a saloon. A knife fight ensues in a nearby corral. Coe is killed but Max is severely wounded. Neesa takes him to her tribe's camp and nurses him back to health. Soon after, they become lovers.

Once recovered, Max continues his pursuit. He learns that Bowdre is in a prison camp located deep within Louisiana's swamps. Max deliberately commits a bank robbery to be sent to the same prison as Bowdre. Max persuades Bowdre to escape with him, planning to kill him in the swamp. Pilar, a local Cajun girl working in the rice fields near the convicts’ camp agrees to help Max. Unaware of Max's plan to kill Bowdre, she obtains a boat and navigates the trio through the swamp. The boat capsizes early on and Pilar is bitten by a venomous snake. Max kills Bowdre and Pilar dies from the snakebite.

Max has escaped and is now hunting Fitch, the last murderer. Still blinded by revenge, Max infiltrates Fitch's gang, calling himself, "Nevada Smith". Fitch knows Max Sand has killed Coe and Bowdre and is coming for him. Though he accepts "Nevada" into the gang, Fitch is wary. As the gang rides out to commit a gold-transport robbery, Max is spotted by Cord, who calls out his name. Max ignores him and the gang rides on. Fitch now suspects one of his men is Max. As the gang greedily scoops up the stolen gold, Max watches from a hill. Fitch, realizing "Smith" is Sand, grabs his share and flees. Max pursues him and corners him at a creek. Fitch tries shooting Sand while pretending to surrender, but Sand, faster, shoots Fitch's hand.

Fitch gives up and wants Max to quickly kill him. Max shoots Fitch several more times, inflicting painful but non-fatal wounds. As Fitch lies in the creek, bleeding profusely, Max demands Fitch beg for his life. Fitch calls Max a coward for refusing to kill him. Max decides Fitch is not worth killing and rides away as Fitch continues shouting at Max to kill him.

The protagonist of the series is a twelve-year-old girl named Shiina Tamai. She bonds with a starfish-shaped "dragonchild" (baby "shadow dragon") whom she calls Hoshimaru. The series is mainly about the interaction between Shiina and other young people who have also bonded with dragons.

Professor Philip Brainard, of Medfield College, is a mad scientist who is developing a new energy source in an attempt to raise enough money to save the college from closure. His preoccupation with his research distracts him from his fiancée, Sara Jean Reynolds, who is the president of the college; he has already missed two wedding dates as a result of this, much to Sara's anger. On the day of the third attempted wedding, Brainard is approached by his former partner Wilson Croft, who has profited from ideas he has stolen from the chemist and now desires to steal Sara from Brainard and make her his wife, an intention that he declares directly to Brainard, who takes it as a joke.

Before he can make it to the wedding, his latest experiment shows quick progress, forcing him to miss this latest wedding date. The resulting substance created from the experiment is a sentient green goo with enormous amounts of elasticity and kinetic energy. It increases in speed as it bounces and proves to be difficult to control, wreaking havoc on the neighborhood before the professor finally manages to capture it. Weebo, Brainard's hovering robot assistant, classifies the substance as "flying rubber", leading Brainard to christen it "Flubber".

Brainard continues to work on Flubber into the early morning, looking to stabilize the Flubber's movement as opposed to stimulation. Brainard's incorrectly set watch alarm goes off at 6:30 am, and Weebo informs him that he has missed the wedding. Brainard goes to Sara's office and unsuccessfully attempts to explain the situation to her, after which he becomes all the more determined to prove the Flubber's worth and win her back.

Meanwhile, Medfield College sponsor Chester Hoenicker (who is first seen in a newspaper article as the one threatening to foreclose the college) is disappointed that Brainard has failed his son Bennett in chemistry class. That night, Hoenicker sends his security guards Smith and Wesson to Brainard's house in an attempt to persuade Brainard into giving Bennett a better grade. However, Brainard is too busy experimenting with the Flubber to even notice them and unknowingly knocks them unconscious with a Flubber-coated golf ball and bowling ball.

Later, Brainard uses Flubber to give his vintage Ford Thunderbird flight, and during a test run, he discovers Wilson flirting with Sara (making a bet that she will buy him dinner if Medfield wins, or join him for a weekend in the mountains if they lose). Afterward, Weebo attempts to confess her love of Brainard, only to be shrugged off as a computer. In response, she secretly creates a holographic human version of herself named Sylvia in hopes of winning him over.

Before Weebo can kiss Brainard in this form as he sleeps, Brainard awakens with another idea for Flubber. He enters the vacant basketball arena and tests the effects of Flubber on a basketball and his shoes. Right before the game, he gives Flubber-padded shoes to the unskilled Medfield basketball team to increase their abilities and beat the Rutland team. Back in Brainard's home, looking to have some fun, Weebo unleashes Flubber from his case, allowing him to dance around the house and cause general mayhem.

After the close but successful basketball game, Brainard's attempt to win Sara back into his favor fails. Upon returning home, Weebo records Brainard as he releases his emotional baggage, saying his absent-mindedness is due to his love of Sara. After this, he resignedly goes to bed after admitting Sara isn't right for him after all. Weebo, feeling guilty about failing to remind him about his wedding, shows the footage to Sara, who then reconciles with Brainard. Brainard demonstrates Flubber's abilities to Sara and they discuss how it can be used for profit.

However, Hoenicker discovers Flubber's existence, and after failing to convince Brainard and Sara to sell it to him, he summons Smith and Wesson to raid Brainard's house and steal Flubber. Weebo attempts to fend off the henchmen, only to be struck down by Wesson with a baseball bat. Brainard and Sara return to find the home a wreck and find Weber (Brainard's house-robot) cleaning up, Flubber stolen, and Weebo destroyed. Later, Brainard discovers that Weebo had downloaded backup data of herself onto his computer in the event of her destruction, as well as a video recording of Weebo's hologram professing her love for him.

Brainard and Sara confront Hoenicker and attempt to save Flubber, under the guise of accepting Hoenicker's offer. While there, they discover that Wilson is allied with the millionaire who wanted to sell it for a profit. Brainard and Sara then reveal their ruse and unleash Flubber, starting a battle between the villains and them. In the end, Brainard and Sara defeat Wilson, Bennett Hoenicker, Chester, and his henchmen, retrieve Flubber, raise enough money to save the college, and finally have a successful wedding, along with Flubber and the "daughter" of Weebo, called Weebette. The film ends with the family heading to Hawaii in the Thunderbird, flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet, with Weebette insisting on not sharing a hotel room with Flubber.

Major Ivan Kuchenko (Martin Landau), a KGB agent who is attempting to defect, is trapped inside a hotel room in an unnamed, politically neutral country. Commissar Vassiloff (John van Dreelen), a hitman, and Boris (Robert Kelljan), his assistant, are watching Kuchenko from a room across the street. Vassiloff, who considers himself an artist, has an elaborate plan for Kuchenko's assassination. After Vassiloff tricks Kuchenko into drinking a sleeping drug, Kuchenko awakes to find a taped recording from Vassiloff in which he explains that he has booby-trapped an object in the room. If Kuchenko finds and disarms the object within three hours, he will be allowed to live; if he tries to leave the room before then or turn out the lights, he will be shot by Boris, an expert sniper.

Vassiloff tells Boris he has hidden a lethal bomb in the telephone, but it will be triggered only by picking up an incoming call. Thus, when Kuchenko picks up the phone without it ringing, nothing happens. Kuchenko grows increasingly nervous and desperate as the ordeal continues, even begging Vassiloff to shoot him at one point. With ten minutes of time left, Vassiloff places a call to Kuchenko's room. Kuchenko puts his hand on the receiver, but hesitates. When Vassiloff tries to call him a second time, Kuchenko bolts out of the hotel room, narrowly escaping a spray of bullets from Boris. Later, Vassiloff and Boris enter the room to dispose of evidence. The telephone rings, and Boris and Vassiloff are both killed after Boris unthinkingly answers it. On the other end of the line is Ivan Kuchenko, calling from a phone booth at the airport. The operator tells him she is unable to reach his party, but Kuchenko states, "It’s alright, operator. I... I have reached them.” He then leaves to board a plane flying to New York City, as Vassiloff and Boris are shown lying dead amidst the rubble of Kuchenko's room.

Near the end of the American Civil War, a Southern spy (Orbison) with a bullet-shooting guitar is given the task of robbing gold bullion from the United States Mint in San Francisco to help finance the ill-fated Confederacy's last-ditch war effort.

Sheriff Koch (Michael Constantine) cannot sleep the night before the execution of a man, as he feels conflicted about the situation. His wife Ella (Eve McVeagh) is no comfort as she snarls, "What time do they string him up; you know what I mean...what time does he get hung?" Her attitude represents the hateful sentiment of the town that looks forward to the fate of Jagger, a man who is to be hanged after being wrongfully convicted of killing a bigot in self-defense and who is unrepentant about the killing. On the day of his execution, the sun does not rise in the morning, and it seems that this is the only place in the world where this is true.

There is still some dispute as to whether Jagger is guilty. The sheriff is conflicted, while the deputy is convinced Jagger is guilty; the latter accused of perjury by the town news reporter. That morning the Deputy becomes loud and obnoxious, and the sheriff tells him: "You better unravel it Pierce, or I'll spread you all over this yard". At 9:00 AM, just before the hanging, it is still dark; the radio now reporting the darkness confined to this one small village. The sheriff admits he feels guilty because he didn't question the lack of autopsy of the victim, and didn't care that there were powder burns on the victim despite the deputy testifying that Jagger shot the victim from across a room. The sheriff wanted to be reelected, and as such went along with the status quo.

However, Jagger is hanged anyway at 9:30, much to the delight of the town. The town clergyman, although a different faith and race than Jagger, steps in and says that he is thankful to him for having stood up for him and his kind. The clergyman asks if Jagger had felt hate and enjoyment when he killed the man. Jagger confirmed he did. After this, the clergyman also reluctantly agrees to the execution, proclaiming that Jagger was in fact guilty. Jagger is disheartened, saying “It’s important to get with the majority isn’t it? That’s a big thing nowadays isn’t it, Reverend?” The Reverend replies: "The majority is all there is". After the hanging, the deputy says that for having gone along with the execution, that the clergyman has "seen the light". The clergyman replies that the sky is black because of all the hatred in the world, namely the hatred surrounding Jagger's execution. The sky becomes even darker after the execution. The deputy is convinced that the darkness is nothing more than fog, which will eventually lift, but neither the sheriff or reporter are convinced.

Later, a radio broadcast reveals that the town is not the only place where this disturbance is happening. The sky has turned dark over North Vietnam, a section of the Berlin Wall, a political prison in Budapest, a section of Chicago, Dealey Plaza (the street in Dallas where President Kennedy was fatally shot), the city of Birmingham, Alabama, a section of Shanghai, China, and other places around the world where hatred runs rampant.

Samantha Madison lives in Washington, D.C and is a sophomore at John Adams Preparatory School. An outcast, she has only one friend, Catherine. Sam is a huge fan of Gwen Stefani and often laments that she is not more like Gwen, though she is against most other aspects of popular culture and dyes her entire wardrobe black because she is "mourning for her generation." A middle child, Sam often feels inferior because her older sister, Lucy, is a cheerleader, and therefore one of the most popular girls in school, and her younger sister, Rebecca, is so intelligent that she takes college-level classes at a school for gifted kids. Sam is very different from her traditional parents—her father is an international economist at the World Bank and her mother is an environmental lawyer. Sam also believes she is in love with Lucy's boyfriend Jack. Jack is the complete social opposite of big sister Lucy, having an artistic yet rebellious attitude to life and claiming that teenagers need to ''fight the system''.

Sam is an aspiring artist and draws celebrity portraits during her German class, which she has a C− in. Her sister Lucy finds out and shows them to the family at dinner. As a punishment, her parents decide to enroll her in bi-weekly art classes at local artist Susan Boone's studio. Sam goes to her first class where she is reprimanded by Boone for drawing what she knows and not what she sees. Offended, Sam decides to skip the next class choosing to occupy her time at the nearby Capitol Cookies and Static (a record store). While she is waiting for her housekeeper to pick up from art class, she notices a man she saw earlier at Static who was listening to Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl". The man turns out to be an assassin and as he takes a gun to shoot the President who is exiting Capitol Cookies, Sam jumps on him and causes him to misfire. She breaks her arm in the process as the man falls on top of her when she jumps on him.

In the aftermath, Sam becomes a celebrity and is declared a national hero. She is also appointed Teen Ambassador to the United Nations. She is no longer a social outcast and becomes popular at school, where she receives numerous social invitations and even gets sucked up to by Kris Parks, her nemesis. When she meets the President, she also meets his son who turns out to be David from her art class at Susan Boone's. As she gets closer to David, she deals with her conflicting feelings for Jack—who she thought was her soulmate—and the President's son.

In the fall of 1954, the Kurtzmans, a Jewish family, live in Forest Park, a suburban neighborhood in northwest Baltimore. Nate, the father, runs a burlesque theater, and engages in a numbers racket. His wife Ada is a housewife. Van, the older son, attends the University of Baltimore, and Ben is in his senior year in high school.

Ben meets Sylvia, an African-American girl, who begins attending his school after the district has been integrated. Ben immediately starts to develop feelings towards Sylvia, and introduces himself. They become close based on a mutual love for Little Richard, James Brown, jazz, and black comedians. Sylvia's father, an affluent doctor, disapproves of their relationship and forbids them to see one another.

On Halloween, Ben dresses up as Adolf Hitler, which shocks his parents greatly, and he's forbidden to go in public wearing it. Van and his friends head over to a party in a predominantly bourgeois, gentile section of town. He is attracted to a mysterious blonde woman. A fight between one of Van's buddies and a gentile erupts over his jewishness and Trey, one of the party-goers, drunkenly crashes his car into the house. Van must leave the mystery woman.

Trey goes to court for the car crash. Van and his friends are there as witnesses, but they find ways to avoid testifying against him. After the hearing is over, Van asks several of the other party attendants about the blonde woman he met. Trey discovers that the girl Van has fallen in love with is Dubbie, Trey's own girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Nate's burlesque theatre has problems. In order to boost returns on the numbers game, an additional bonus number is added that will increase the pay-off. Little Melvin, a local drug dealer, makes a large bet, defies expectations, and hits the number. Unable to pay on such a big win, Nate is forced to cut Melvin a 'slice of the pie'. When Nate offers Melvin the numbers business instead, Melvin claims that Nate is trying to "Jew" him out of his money, and a fight breaks out between their bodyguards.

Sylvia gives Ben tickets to see James Brown & The Famous Flames in concert. There, Ben and his friend are the only white patrons in the audience. Van and his friends head out to a gathering, where he again runs into Dubbie and learns she is with Trey.

Little Melvin spots Nate's car off of Pennsylvania Avenue in the African-American neighborhood where James Brown is performing, and after seeing Ben and his friend inside, deduces that one of them must be Nate's son. After the concert, Melvin abducts Ben, Sylvia, and their friends in a payback to Nate's racket.

Van discovers Trey is in surgery after a car accident. He and Dubbie go see him in Virginia. Trey breaks up with her, and on their way back to Maryland, she suggests they stop in a motel. She gets quite drunk, bursts into tears, and then Van realizes she doesn't really want to be with him.

Nate and his associates from the nightclub are charged and booked with prostitution and racketeering. Before leaving for prison, Nate manages to attend Ben and Sylvia's high school graduation. She is attending Spelman College in Atlanta; he is staying to attend the University of Maryland. As they say goodbye, he steals a kiss, shocking both families

Ben's family is attending a Jewish ceremony as Nate walks out of the synagogue and blows a goodbye kiss to his wife.

In 1969, while working in a dead letter office in Nebraska, disgruntled postal clerk Randolph Jaffe discovers hints to a mysterious society known as The Shoal, which ostensibly practises a form of magic only vaguely known as "The Art". Jaffe's search eventually brings him to a New Mexico town where he encounters Kissoon, who claims to be the last of the Shoal. Kissoon tells Jaffe of the mystical dream sea Quiddity and the islands within it known as the Ephemeris. Quiddity, as it turns out, is visible exactly three times to an ordinary human: The first time we ever sleep outside our mother's womb, the first time we sleep beside the one we truly love and the last time we ever sleep before we die. However, this simply is not enough for the megalomaniac Jaffe, who wishes to actually visit the dream sea in person and gain control of it. Jaffe flees when Kissoon tries to bargain for his body.

Jaffe later teams up with a scientist named Fletcher to develop a liquid called Nuncio, which can theoretically allow a human to evolve to a state that would enable him to physically reach Quiddity. However, Fletcher realises that Jaffe will only use Nuncio for evil and destroys his laboratory. Jaffe arrives and both are exposed to the Nuncio. After the two battle each other for a year, their spirits arrive in California, where they rape and impregnate four teenage girls. One of the girls is infertile and fails to conceive while another kills herself and her child after giving birth. The third, Trudi Katz, moves away with her baby Howard, while the fourth, Joyce McGuire, gives birth to twins, Jo-Beth and Tommy Ray.

Eighteen years pass. Howard returns to California after the death of his mother. While Jaffe and Fletcher produced offspring to continue their battle, Howard and Jo-Beth instead fall in love after meeting. Fletcher and Jaffe are able to escape captivity. Jaffe is able to amass an army of creatures known as Terata using the minds of vulnerable people, and gets his son Tommy Ray on his side as well. Howard encounters Fletcher, who explains his heritage to him. Fletcher explains Quiddity to Howard, telling him that the Ephemeris contain the Great and Secret Show. However, Howard refuses to align with his father. Meanwhile, a reporter named Grillo and his friend, Tesla, arrive in town. Fletcher is unable to amass his own army of hallucigenia from the mind of dreamers and instead kills himself through immolation, spreading his essence to the people of the town.

Having encountered Fletcher before his death, Tesla heads to the remnants of his laboratory to recover the remains of the Nuncio. Tommy Ray is sent by Jaffe. While there Tesla encounters Raul, an ape who had been evolved through the power of the Nuncio. Tommy Ray arrives and shoots Tesla, but the last remaining vial of Nuncio breaks, infecting both men. Tesla's consciousness travels to a time loop in New Mexico where she encounters Kissoon. Kissoon explains to Tesla that the Shoal were dedicated to keeping Quiddity and the Art pure but with them all dead, Earth (known as the Cosm) could be dominated by the evil race Iad Uroboros, who live in the Metacosm on the opposite side of Quiddity. Tesla leaves when Kissoon tries to take over her body but agrees to find another body for him to inhabit. Leaving the time loop, Tesla encounters a woman named Mary Muralles, who reveals that it was Kissoon who murdered the Shoal and he is actually an agent of the Iad Uroboros. Kissoon manages to kill Mary using snake-like creatures created by his excrement and semen (Lix), then captures Raul to take over his body.

Tommy Ray leads an army of the dead while the hallucigenia created by Fletcher's death convince Howard to help them attack Jaffe. Jaffe manages to tear a hole through reality into Quiddity but realises it is too much power for him to deal with. As his Terata battle the hallucigenia many are dragged into Quiddity including Howard, Jo-Beth and Tommy Ray. Tesla, Grillo and Jaffe flee the house and attempt to close the vortex into Quiddity. Quiddity transforms Howard, Jo-Beth and Tommy Ray as they reach the Ephemeris, where they find that the Iad Uroboros are crossing Quiddity towards Earth.

The town starts to collapse and is sealed off by the authorities. Tesla recalls a word Kissoon had brought up, "Trinity", which is the place where the first atomic bomb was detonated. Kissoon arrives, now occupying Raul's body, but Jaffe is able to distract him as Tesla transports the vortex to Quiddity into Kissoon's time loop. Howard, Jo-Beth and Tommy Ray, completely transformed from their experience in Quiddity, return from the vortex. Jaffe is able to kill Raul's body and is reunited with Tommy Ray. Tesla finds that Raul has occupied Kissoon's former body. By convincing Raul's consciousness to enter her body, Kissoon's body dies, which disintegrates the time loop, destroys the vortex to Quiddity and the Iad Uroboros who were arriving. Tesla and the others are able to escape the time loop just in time.

Jo-Beth and Howard meet supernatural investigator Harry D'Amour, who asks for their story. Tesla meets Grillo and tells him that the worshippers of the Iad Uroboros are still active and will try to summon them again.

In 1848, an Irish immigrant named Maeve O'Connell is traveling west with her father and a group of others. Her father seeks to found the town of Everville, being inspired by a mysterious man named Buddenbaum and having been given a medallion similar to the one possessed by Jaffe in the Great and Secret Show. Maeve's father is scapegoated and murdered by the fanatics in the group but Maeve is saved by a winged creature named Coker. Disobeying his orders to not follow him, Maeve ends up disrupting a wedding ceremony of two warring families from Quiddity, leading to a large conflict and the death of most of the families. Coker and Maeve are about to head through a portal, called a neirica, which brought such beings to Earth from Quiddity, but the arrival of Buddenbaum disrupts things. As the neirica closes, Coker severs his wings to stay with Maeve. Only one of the beings from Quiddity remains, a creature named Noah.

The narrative then shifts to the present day, where Everville is about to hold its popular annual festival. A doctor's receptionist named Phoebe Cobb carried on an affair with a black painter named Joe Flicker. When caught by Phoebe's husband, a struggle ensues and her husband is accidentally killed, forcing Joe, who has a prior criminal record, to go on the run. Tesla Bombeck, whose head is also occupied by Raul, returns to Palomo Grove where she meets a young man named Lucien and his colleagues, who believe Fletcher has returned. Meanwhile, Grillo, who has been collecting strange stories from around the world in a database he calls "The Reef" comes across a report that makes him believe Tommy Ray is still alive. He reaches out to Howard and Jo-Beth, who are now married with a baby daughter, Amy. An attorney named Erwin Toothaker comes across a 30-year-old confession about the lynching of a strange family of three. His research leads him to the remains of the family's home where he finds Fletcher. Tesla meets up with and makes love to Lucien but the two argue and split up, spurned primarily by Raul. Fletcher drains the life out of Erwin, killing him. Erwin's spirit remains and sees him creating Lix, revealing that Fletcher is in fact Kissoon. Joe, fleeing to the hills near Everville, comes across Noah and the still present neirica to Quiddity. Noah convinces Joe to bring him through into Quiddity and promises him power. He introduces Joe to a squid-like creature called Zehraphushu ("Shu") which is believed to be a god-like being possessing a hive mind. Erwin's spirit is able to lead Tesla to his home where she meets and befriends Phoebe.

Buddenbaum returns to Everville and starts a relationship with local teenager Seth Lundy. Buddenbaum has brought spirits he calls avatars with him and is looking for what he calls the crossroads. Tesla and Phoebe return to Erwin's house where they encounter Kissoon. Due to the arrival of Erwin and other spirits, as well as Kissoon's weakened state, Tesla and Phoebe are able to escape. In a dream Phoebe is able to interact with Joe, however he is left for dead in the water by the enslaved beings on the ship he is traveling on. In New York, Harry D'Amour meets with his friend Ted, who has made a painting of Wyckoff Street, where years earlier D'Amour encountered a demon he calls Lazy Susan who killed a friend of his. With support from Ted and his psychic friend Norma, D'Amour infiltrates a ceremony of beings from Quiddity, but Kissoon arrives in a new body, killing them and sealing the neirica. D'Amour finds an old abode of Kissoon's and pursues him across the country, eventually being led to Everville.

Tesla and Phoebe head to the mountains of Everville where they find some creatures from Quiddity and the bodies of Lucien and his colleagues, who have been crucified. By threatening one of the creatures, and due to the timely arrival of D'Amour, they are able to escape. Tesla and Phoebe split up as Phoebe heads through the neirica into Quiddity. Due to the close proximity to Quiddity, Raul's spirit departs Tesla's body. In Quiddity, Phoebe meets a creature named Musnakaff who brings her to a home in the recreated city of Liverpool where she meets the now elderly Maeve O'Connell. Meanwhile, Joe makes it to the island of Mem-e b'Kether Sabbat where he finds many fleeing the city in fear of the Iad Ourobourus who are continuing to make their way across Quiddity to the Earth. Buddenbaum and Seth reunite. As the annual parade takes place in Everville, Buddenbaum tries to dig up the medallion buried in the ground and starts using the Art, causing many strange things to happen. A girl, one of Buddenbaum's avatars known as the jai wai, appears to Tesla, and are interested in her. D'Amour shoots Buddenbaum in the head which doesn't kill him, but he stops his attempts at using the Art.

Speaking with Maeve, Phoebe learns that she, along with her husband Coker and child, were the three that were lynched many years ago as discovered by Erwin. Maeve wants to return to Everville and along the way her former lover, a being made of earth called King Texas, appears. Maeve refuses him but Phoebe falls in a chasm and is forced to remain with him. Joe reunites with Noah, who leads him to a temple where there is a giant Shu, the only thing holding back the Iad Ouroborus. Joe has a special bond with the Shu, but Noah wants him to kill it. When he refuses, he kills Joe then the giant Shu as well. Joe's spirit departs his body and witnesses the Iad now heading across Quiddity. Grillo helps Howard and Jo-Beth flee from Tommy Ray, but he pursues them along with the numerous dead spirits that follow him which he is unable to control. In the attempt to stop Tommy Ray, Howard starts a fire, but this ends up claiming the life of both him and Jo-Beth. Grillo is also killed trying to save Amy, who he gives to Tesla. Tesla meets all of the jai wai. Meanwhile, Erwin meets the spirit of Coker and they follow D'Amour to the mountains. There D'Amour is captured by the same creatures from Quiddity that Tesla and Phoebe had encountered before. Kissoon reveals himself to D'Amour and says that he has sealed the neirica across the world such that the Iad would enter Earth via Everville. Raul, who has possessed the body of one of the creatures from Quiddity is able to free D'Amour.

Phoebe is able to free herself of King Texas, who is able to block a large portion of the Iad from heading through the neirica to Earth. However, a portion of the Iad still head through. Maeve meets D'Amour and Raul. She reveals to them the origins of Everville, that the town was founded through prostitution she had set up there, and of her husband Coker and son Clayton, who showed utter contempt for humanity. Hearing of him, D'Amour recognizes Clayton to be Kissoon, who is seeking revenge upon Everville. Seth reaches out to Tesla, trying to set up a meeting with her and Buddenbaum. The jai wai have decided to abandon Buddenbaum for Tesla and she meets with him. Her being there disrupted Buddenbaum's previous attempt to use the Art and she agrees to bring the jai wai to him and leave him be. Tommy Ray arrives in Everville and is able to take Amy, whom he claims to be his daughter, away with him. Tesla meets with the jai wai and agrees to let them follow her, but wants them to tell Buddenbaum they are abandoning him. Buddenbaum, who is again attempting to use the Art, reacts to the news by causing a blaze in the area, killing Tesla and the jai wai. Light from the event envelops Maeve, causing her original whorehouse to appear again. D'Amour looks for and finds Kissoon, and Seth helps him escape from Buddenbaum. Kissoon confronts his mother in the whorehouse and kills her, but by doing so Tesla is resurrected and given the power of the Art. Maeve's spirit is reunited with that of Coker's. Kissoon and the Iad fade away into the darkness.

Time passes and the events in Everville hit the news. Buddenbaum, Seth, Kissoon and the Iad have all disappeared. Tesla heads to Omaha to see the Reef. Harry has one final confrontation with the Lazy Susan demon and kills him. He is summoned by Raul to come see Tesla, finding her in a non-responsive state. Despite her state, Tesla is able to show D'Amour visions of the stories gathered in the Reef and is looking for the origins of everything. In Quiddity, Phoebe returns to Maeve's home. The spirit of Joe reaches the house where he partially comes into being while she is dreaming of him. Phoebe later is reunited with Joe by the shore, with the remains of his new body being created by the Shu.

Harvey Swick is an 11-year-old boy bored with school, teachers, homework, and his day-to-day life. A man named Rictus visits Harvey and tells him about a kids’ paradise called the Holiday House. At the Holiday House, there are all the sweets a person could ask for; four seasons in a day; Halloween every evening; Christmas, with whatever gifts you could wish for every night; and everything else you could dream of. Harvey hesitantly visits the house and becomes friends with two other children staying alongside him, Wendell and Lulu. There is also an elderly woman, Mrs. Griffin, who cooks all the meals and cares for the children; though she seems kind, she appears to be keeping a secret about the house and its creator, Mr. Hood. Harvey eventually discovers that the house's creator, Mr. Hood, has sucked all of the children’s souls away and turned them into fish, imprisoning them in the lake. Lulu is turned into a fish the night of Harvey's escape, but Harvey and Wendell flee the house by following a cat through the mist barrier that constantly surrounds the property at night.

When both Harvey and Wendell come home, they soon discover that for every day they had spent in the Holiday House one year had passed in the rest of the world. When Harvey returns home, he finds his parents are thirty-one years older than when he left. He tells his parents what happened and they search for the House, but Harvey has forgotten all the roads he took coming home.

Harvey meets Wendell again, and Wendell tells Harvey that Wendell's mother is old, fat, and divorced. They decide that the only way to regain their lost time is to return to the Holiday House. Upon doing so, Harvey learns that Hood runs the entire house on magic and illusions.

Harvey defeats Hood by tricking him into using up all of his magic by wishing for as many things he can think of as fast as he can. With his power drained, an exhausted Hood allows Harvey one more wish. Harvey wishes for all the seasons at once, resulting in a storm that destroys the house. Hood seems to perish, but he manages to rebuild a body from the debris of the house, and comments on Harvey's courage. Hood then offers Harvey, whom he calls "A Thief of Always," the chance to become a vampire with him and be immortal. Harvey refuses, and the confrontation ends with Mr. Hood being sucked into the lake, which has turned into a whirlpool. The children all leave the remains of the house to go back to their respective times.

Decades prior to the book's opening, a magical race known as the Seerkind combined all of their powers to create a secret world known as "the Fugue", a carpet into which they wove their most beloved locations, animals, possessions and themselves as a safe haven. Their aim was to avoid persecution by humans (who call them demons and fairies) and eradication by a destructive being known as the Scourge. This creature's nature is entirely unknown to the Seerkind, as no-one has survived to describe it. The Fugue, resembling an ordinary, albeit exquisitely woven, carpet is left in the care of a normal woman, Mimi Laschenski, who married one of the Seerkind and resides in Liverpool, England.

Mimi reaches old age and is hospitalised following a stroke. A young man named Calhoun Mooney, chasing an escaped homing pigeon, accidentally glimpses the Fugue hidden in the carpet, which profoundly affects him. Simultaneously, Mimi's granddaughter Suzanna Parrish, arrives in the city at Mimi's behest. The mystery surrounding Mimi and the full potential of the carpet brings Cal and Suzanna together and quickly into confrontation with the primary antagonists: Immacolata, an exiled and extremely powerful Seerkind bent on revenge; Shadwell, a human salesman with limitless ambition; and Hobart, a conscientious policeman.

Cal and Suzanna acquire new allies and abilities in their goal of protecting the Fugue from destruction, venturing into it themselves twice. When Shadwell's actions result in the Fugue's seemingly total obliteration, the surviving Seerkind scatter. In a last desperate attempt to finish them, Shadwell locates and awakens the Scourge, which begins systematically destroying any and all traces of magic it can find.

Cal, Suzanna and their remaining allies make a final stand against Shadwell by using his own tactics against him and convince the Scourge to abandon its cause and leave the planet in peace. In the aftermath, a severely traumatised Cal is cared for by Suzanna whilst their friends adjust to permanent life amongst humanity. Eventually, Cal emerges from his withdrawal with the knowledge of how the Fugue is still alive and can be restored to its full glory.

A mysterious, unnamed stranger rides out of the desert, wearing a duster & black hat, into the isolated, lake mining town of Lago in the American Old West. Three hired "town security" gunmen taunt and threaten him; he kills all three with little effort. When the attractive, blond townswoman Callie Travers flirtatiously insults him, he rapes her in the livery stable. That night, in his hotel room, the Stranger dreams of Jim Duncan, a federal marshal, being whipped to death by outlaws Stacey Bridges and brothers Dan and Cole Carlin, as Lago's citizens watch in silence.

The next day, Lago officials offer the Stranger "anything you want" to protect the town from Bridges and the Carlins, who will soon be released from prison. It is gradually revealed that the townspeople hired these 'outlaws' to murder Duncan when he discovered the local gold mine was illegally on government land and would have to be closed, destroying the town's livelihood. The townspeople then turned in the outlaws on false robbery charges to avoid paying them, and they have vowed revenge.

The Stranger accepts the job and takes full advantage of the deal: he appoints a downtrodden dwarf named Mordecai as both sheriff and mayor, provides a Native American and his children with blankets and candy when the shopkeeper refuses to serve them, gets a new saddle and boots, and forces the saloon to serve everyone free drinks. He later orders the hotel owners, Lewis and Sarah Belding, and all the other guests to vacate the premises, leaving him its sole occupant.

Callie and several men conspire to kill the Stranger. After having sex with him in his room, she slips out as three men enter. As they unknowingly beat a dummy in the bed, the Stranger tosses a stick of dynamite into the room, destroying most of the hotel, then shoots 2 of his attackers dead, as Morgan flees wounded. The Stranger drags Sarah, kicking and screaming, into her bedroom (the only room in the hotel not damaged) where they have sex. The next morning, Sarah tells the Stranger that Duncan cannot rest in peace because the town buried him in an unmarked grave.

The Stranger assembles a group of citizens to defend the town, but soon realizes that none have the necessary "shooting" skills. He orders every building in town painted blood red. He then rides out of town without explanation, following the wounded Morgan. As he leaves, he paints over the town sign with a single word: "Hell".

The Stranger finds Bridges and the Carlins, who just "finished off" Morgan and harasses them with dynamite and rifle fire, leading the outlaws to believe the townspeople are responsible. Returning to Lago, the Stranger inspects the preparations—the entire town painted red, armed men on rooftops, picnic tables laden with food and drink, and a big "WELCOME HOME BOYS" banner—then he silently departs again. The outlaws arrive and easily overcome the novice resistance of the townspeople; the defenders are all killed, while the survivors are rounded up in the saloon. The Stranger lures one of the Carlin brothers outside and whips him to death, then kills the remaining outlaws one at a time. Belding, aiming a shotgun at the Stranger's back, is shot dead by Mordecai. The next morning as the Stranger rides past Mordecai in the cemetery. "You know," Mordecai says, "I never did know your name." The Stranger replies, "Yes, you do." As the Stranger rides off into the desert, a perplexed Mordecai stands beside the tombstone he just engraved "Marshal Jim Duncan, Rest in Peace".

Pepe le Moko is a notorious thief, who, after his last great heist, escaped from France to Algeria. Since his escape, le Moko became a resident and leader of the immense Casbah, or "native quarter", of Algiers. French officials who arrive insisting on Pepe's capture are met with unfazed local detectives, led by Inspector Slimane, who are biding their time. Meanwhile, Pepe begins to feel increasingly trapped in his prison-like stronghold, a feeling which intensifies after meeting the beautiful Gaby, who is visiting from France. His love for Gaby soon arouses the jealousy of Ines, Pepe's Algerian mistress.

The song in this film is called ''C'est la Vie'' which means ''That's Life'' in French.

King Edward IV of England (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) has been placed on the throne with the help of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Sir Laurence Olivier). After Edward's coronation in the Great Hall, with his brothers George and Richard watching, he leaves with his wife and sons. Richard contemplates the throne, before advancing towards the audience and then addressing them, delivering a speech that outlines his physical deformities, including a hunched back and a withered arm. He goes on to describe his jealousy over his brother's rise to power in contrast to his lowly position.

He dedicates himself to task and plans to frame his brother, George, Duke of Clarence (Sir John Gielgud), for conspiring to kill the King, and to have George sent to the Tower of London, by claiming George will murder Edward's heirs. He then tells his brother he will help him get out. Having confused and deceived the King, Richard proceeds with his plans after getting a warrant, and enlists two ruffians (Michael Gough and Michael Ripper) to carry out his dirty work: George is murdered, drowned in a butt of wine. Though Edward had sent a pardon to Richard, Richard stopped it passing. Richard goes on to woo and seduce the Lady Anne (Claire Bloom), and though she hates him for killing her husband and father, she cannot resist and ends up marrying him.

Richard then orchestrates disorder in the court, fueling rivalries, and setting the court against the Queen consort, Elizabeth (Mary Kerridge). The King, weakened by exhaustion, appoints his brother, Richard, as Lord Protector, and dies soon after hearing of the death of George. Edward's son, soon to become Edward V (Paul Huson), is met by Richard whilst en route to London. Richard has the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Hastings (Alec Clunes) arrested and executed, and forces the young King, along with his younger brother the Duke of York (Andy Shine), to have a protracted stay at the Tower of London.

With all obstacles now removed, Richard enlists the help of his cousin the Duke of Buckingham (Sir Ralph Richardson) to alter his public image, and to become popular with the people. In doing so, Richard becomes the people's first choice to become the new King.

Buckingham had aided Richard on terms of being given the title of Earl of Hereford and its income, but balks at the idea of murdering the two princes. Richard then asks a minor knight, Sir James Tyrrel (Patrick Troughton), eager for advancement, to have young Edward and the Duke of York killed in the Tower of London. Buckingham, having requested his earldom at Richard's coronation, fears for his life when Richard (angry at Buckingham for not killing the princes) shouts "I am not in the giving vein today!" Buckingham then joins the opposition against Richard's rule.

Richard, now fearful because of his dwindling popularity, raises an army to defend his throne and the House of York against the House of Lancaster, led by Henry Tudor (Stanley Baker), the Earl of Richmond and later Henry VII of England, at Bosworth Field (1485). Before the battle, however, Buckingham is captured and executed.

On the eve of the battle, Richard is haunted by the ghosts of all those he has killed in his bloody ascent to the throne, and he wakes up screaming. Richard composes himself, striding out to plan the battle for his generals, and gives a motivational speech to his troops.

The two forces engage in battle, with the Lancastarians having the upper hand. Lord Stanley (Laurence Naismith), whose loyalties had been questionable for some time, betrays Richard, and allies himself with Henry. Richard sees this and charges into the thick of battle, side by side with his loyal companion Sir William Catesby (Norman Wooland) to kill Richmond and end the battle quickly. Eventually Richard spots Richmond and they briefly engage in a duel before being interrupted by Stanley's men. Richard and Catesby are able to escape the oncoming forces, but, in doing so, Richard is knocked off his horse, loses his cherished crown, and becomes separated from Catesby, who is off seeking rescue. Searching desperately for Richmond, whom he has lost sight of, Richard cries out: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Catesby finds the king and offers him withdrawal, but Richard refuses to flee. Catesby is then killed by Richmond's men without Richard noticing. Richard then spots Lord Stanley, and engages him in single combat. Before a victor can emerge, the Lancastarian troops charge Richard, and fatally wound him. The wounded murderous king convulses in spasms, offering his sword to the sky, and eventually dies of his wounds. Stanley orders Richard's body to be taken away and then finds Richard's crown in a thorn bush. He then proceeds to offer it to Henry, leaving the crown of England in safe hands once again.

Jonathan West (Cooper) is an unsuccessful Irish ventriloquist. He is perpetually broke, selling valuable keepsakes like his grandfather's watch to pawnbrokers in exchange for petty cash. At the boarding house where he lives, he is mercilessly taunted by a little girl, Susan (billed as Susanne Cupito), for failing to find a job. But unbeknownst to everyone, Jonathan's evil ventriloquist dummy, "Little Caesar", has a mind of his own and talks to him at will. Despite Jonathan's reassurances that they are on the verge of a big break, Caesar apathetically tells him that they have hit bottom.

When Jonathan and Caesar go to a nightclub for an audition, the performance is poorly received. The following day, Jonathan is unable to find employment because of his lack of vocational experience and his immigrant status; he may soon leave the boarding house because he is behind on his rent. Caesar berates Jonathan for being a hopeless "clod", but has a solution to his money woes: burglary. A reluctant Jonathan—directed by Caesar in his suitcase—breaks into a delicatessen and steals its money. Jonathan uses it to pay his rent, but Caesar, during a conversation overheard by Susan, pressures him into committing more burglaries.

Susan — now aware that Caesar can talk — sneaks into Jonathan's room in his absence to unsuccessfully speak with the dummy. Jonathan catches her coming out of the room and runs her off. Inside, Jonathan expresses a desire to flee, but Caesar cajoles him into carrying out the next burglary. The duo sneaks into the nightclub to break into the manager's office. However, they are caught by a night watchman after they steal money from the nightclub's safe. They manage to bluff their way past him by giving an impromptu routine.

When Jonathan and Caesar arrive home, Susan eavesdrops on their ensuing argument. The next morning over breakfast, Susan hears her aunt, Mrs. Cudahy, read about the nightclub theft from a newspaper. She calls the police to tip them off about Jonathan and Caesar. Two detectives arrive at the boarding house and interrogate Jonathan, who tries to make Caesar talk about his role in the crime. The dummy, however, remains silent. Mrs. Cudahy and the detectives stare at the one-sided exchange, thinking Jonathan mad. Jonathan now realizes that Caesar has abandoned him and is willingly arrested.

After the detectives lead Jonathan out of the room, Caesar turns his head around and addresses Susan, who lingered and is the last to leave. She triumphally tells him she knew all the time he could speak. He says he likes her for her "hip attitude" and offers to help her run away to New York City. Caesar assures Susan that Jonathan will now be gone "for a long, long time" and that the two of them are now "a team." Finally, Caesar hints Susan should kill her aunt with poison darts. She says nothing and smiles.

In Vietnam, medics are examining Pip Phillips, a wounded soldier. The medical officer says Pip's case is hopeless and it is only a matter of time before he will die. In the United States, Pip's father Max, a bookie, suckers a young man named George Reynold into placing $300 on a bad bet. Reynold comes to him for help, saying that he made the bet on loaned money and will go to jail if he doesn't get it back. Max returns the $300, but his boss Mr. Moran notices the discrepancy in the books and summons both Max and Reynold to his office. As the young man is strong-armed into returning his bet, Max receives a telegram about Pip's condition. Max vocally rues the time he spent working as a bookie instead of being a father to his son, and returns the money to Reynold. He tells him to run and threatens Moran and his underling with a knife. The underling shoots Max but Max is still enraged by his son's fate and uses his knife to kill both men.

Wounded, he stumbles outside towards a closed amusement park and is surprised to see Pip at age 10. The two have some fun and redress Max's near-constant absence from his son's life, with Max teaching Pip how to shoot at a shooting gallery. Pip runs off into the house of mirrors, and Max follows. When Max finds him, Pip explains that he is dying and vanishes. Max prays to God and offers to trade his own life in exchange for Pip's. He collapses and dies on the midway.

Some months later, the adult Pip is seen at the park, now walking with the aid of a cane. Max's former landlady Mrs. Feeny is also there with her granddaughter and recalls Max's love for his son. Pip visits the shooting gallery, remembering the wonderful times he had as a child with his father and his father's advice to work the gun and not the jaw. He proclaims that his father was "[his] best buddy" as he begins to play the shooting game.

An Inuk hunter kills a Christian missionary who rejects his traditional offer of food and his wife's company. Pursued by white policemen, the Inuk saves the life of one of them, resulting in a final confrontation in which the surviving cop must decide between his commitment to law enforcement and his gratitude to the Inuk.

US cover of ''Mariel of Redwall''

Book 1: The Maid from the Sea

The story opens with the Gabool the Wild, the nefarious King of Searats, standing at the top of a cliff, watching a small mousemaid struggling to stay afloat in the rough seas below. The pirate king returned to his fortress, Fort Bladegirt, where one of his captains named Bludrigg demanded a share of their most recent plunder. Gabool feigned an air of compliance, but swiftly beheaded Bludrigg. After this incident, he interrogated Joseph the Bellmaker and attempted to force him to build a tower for the enormous bell he captured. This fails, but Gabool was able to successfully persuade the Bellmaker to interpret the mysterious symbols on the bell in exchange for promises of a reunion with the latter's daughter. Gabool, technically upholding this promise, proceeds to shove the old mouse off of the cliff he had been watching the mousemaid being battered by the sea from before.

In the meantime, the mousemaid was rendered unconscious when a piece of flotsam struck her on the head. But miraculously, she survived, waking up after being washed ashore with a rope looped around her neck. Overwhelmed by thirst, the dazed mousemaid eventually found a small pool of fresh water. After successfully fending off a gull with her trusty rope and unsuccessful attempts to retrieve her forgotten identity, the amnesiac mouse named herself Storm Gullwhacker.

When weary Storm next awoke, she found herself surrounded by trident-wielding toads, led by their disgruntled leader, Oykamon. The mousemaid launched an attack, but was readily overwhelmed and stabbed. She was rescued by Colonel Clary, Brigadier Thyme, and Hon Rosie, hares of the Long Patrol. They decided to bring Storm to Redwall, led by a reclusive, paranoid squirrel, Pakatugg.

At Terramort Isle, Saltar the corsair, brother of Bludrigg, arrived with the ''Darkqueen''. Saltar dueled Gabool, but was treacherously killed in a trap. Immediately afterward, a report came in that Captain Greypatch had stolen the ''Darkqueen'', Gabool's flagship. Gabool told his captains that whoever kills Greypatch will be made second-in-command of all searats. The power-hungry vermin scrambled to amass crew and ships in a bid to claim the reward.

Redwall

Storm and Pakatugg quickly found themselves at odds with their disharmonious personalities and they soon parted way. Storm attempted to find the way to Redwall by herself, meeting an eccentric hare named Tarquin L. Woodsorrel.

The two reached Redwall without further incident. Tarquin conversed with the badger mother Mellus while Storm got acquainted with Dandin and Saxtus, two resident mice. Despite the mousemaid's aversion to baths, Storm eventually grew accustomed to life at Redwall. One night, Dandin, Saxtus, and Storm were enjoying themselves at the Abbot's Jubilee Feast when Saxtus recited a strange, prophetic poem. The mousemaid let out a sudden cry and fell unconscious. Unbeknownst to the Redwallers, the story in the poem paralleled the events of Storm's life and triggered the return of her memory.

The blind herbalist, Simeon, convinced Storm to tell them her newly recovered identity. Storm revealed that her real name was Mariel, and recounted her journey aboard the ''Periwinkle'' with her father, Joseph the Bellmaker. The ''Periwinkle'' was bound on a course for Salamandastron to deliver a massive bell to the current badger lord, Rawnblade Widestripe. Unfortunately, they were overtaken and boarded by a pirate ship under Saltar, who killed the ''Periwinkle'' crew after a brief struggle. Joseph and Mariel were taken to Terramort, and she was forced to serve at Gabool's table.

Things went from bad to worse for the mousemaid when she unwittingly collided with Gabool in the midst of a fight the pirate king had picked with another pirate named Skullgor. Gabool finished off Skullgor, then turned his attention to the hapless mousemaid. Mariel snatched up Skullgor's sword from the ground and managed to stun Gabool, but was knocked out by the pirate king's henchmen before she could deal the killing blow. Embarrassed by his unexpected loss to a mere mousemaid, Gabool tied a heavy rock to Mariel's leg and threw her into the sea. Luckily, her would be ball-and-chain was dashed to pieces during her fall and she managed to survive. Eventually waking up with nothing but her trusty rope after having been washed ashore.

The Quest Begins

Northwest of Redwall, Greypatch landed in Mossflower Woods aboard the ''Darkqueen'', hotly pursued by Garrtail aboard the ''Greenfang''. Greypatch easily massacred the crew of the ''Greenfang'' and burned the ship. Pakatugg, spotting the ship, followed the searat scouts, but was captured. When interrogated, the squirrel cracked and revealed the location of Redwall.

Back at Redwall, Mariel attempted to leave immediately in her quest to slay Gabool. Dandin, Mother Mellus, Tarquin, and Simeon were able to convince her to search for information on the whereabouts of Terramort first. All the inhabitants of Redwall searched the gatehouse for clues, unearthing a scroll by Fieldroan the Traveler. Information in hand, Mariel resolved to leave the next day alone. However, Martin the Warrior had other plans. During the night, his spirit visited Simeon and prompted the herbalist to give Dandin his deadly sword.

Early the next morning, Mariel set off as intended, alone, but ran into Tarquin L. Woodsorrel along the path. She insisted that she must make the trip alone, but the hare accompanied her anyway. Not long after, the duo encountered Dandin who had been waiting for them with a full picnic ready. Much to Mariel's chagrin, the party gained yet another member, with the addition of Durry Quill, a Redwall hedgehog. Though furious initially, Mariel finally resigned herself to the fact that the trio was dead-set on accompanying her. The travellers came to a river and were abruptly confronted by a murderous heron named Iraktaan. The travellers' combined efforts were sufficient to subdue the vicious bird. Durry nearly lost his life crossing the pike-infested ford. After a nerve-wracking encounter with an adder and long hours of walking, the four found the "otter and his wife," monolithic sculptures that were mentioned in the Terramort poem.

Book 2: The Strange Forest

The Flitchaye

After making their report to Lord Rawnblade, Clary, Thyme, and Rosie investigated the wreck of the ''Greenfang'' and traced its destruction to the ''Darkqueen'', which has been left unguarded by Greypatch. Greypatch arrived at Redwall and parleyed with the Abbot in a bid to have the Abbey's gates opened, but was injured by a rock-hard turnip. Fed up with the unpleasantness of their experiences on land since leaving the ship, a crew member named Bigfang inveigles the rest of the crew to abandon Greypatch and return to the '’Darkqueen'’. However, the ''Darkqueen'' had been commandeered by the three hares, who loosed a volley of arrows at the searats upon their return. After a long standoff, Kybo the searat convinces the crew to abandon the ''Darkqueen'' and return to Greypatch.

Mariel and her companions followed the path and entered a dense forest. In this forest, they detected a strange, cloying smell that induced drowsiness. The party fell asleep, and awoke to find themselves trussed to a tree, surrounded by creatures shrouded in barkcloth and weeds. They had been captured by a tribe of weasels called the Flitchaye and their leader Snidjer. Mariel broke them free of their bonds and beat furiously on the oak until help arrived in the form of a massive barn owl, Stonehead McGurney. The aptly named owl used his head as a battering ram, flinging the hapless weasels over the treetops. After introducing Mariel and company to his savage wife Thunderbeak and their four ravenous chicks, Stonehead offered to take them to the next location, the "swampdark", mentioned in the poem the next morning.

Down south in Salamandastron, Lord Rawnblade was missing. The ''Waveblade'', under Captain Orgeye, was grounded near Salamandastron and the badger lord came out of his mountain to do battle. Full of the Bloodwrath, Rawnblade slayed the entire corsair crew singlehandedly and set the ship on a course for Terramort.

Swampdark and the Sea

Near Redwall, the ship's crew returned to Greypatch, who had formulated a fail-proof plan to take Redwall. Greypatch sent Bigfang to burn the gates with a shield of oarslaves. The pirate Kybo went to the east wall with grappling hooks to mount a surprise attack, while Greypatch's company fired a barrage of projectiles as a distraction. At first, he feint attack appeared to be working and Kybo's crew nearly scaled the east wall unnoticed. Unfortunately for the searats, three naughty Dibbuns equipped with knives appeared and gleefully sliced through the searats' ropes. It was a long drop to the forest floor below...

The Terramort questers were guided to swampdark, where Stonehead left them. The dimly-lit swamp proved treacherous, and Dandin almost lost his life in a bog. Nevertheless, the party finally reached the edge of the swamp, but became aware that they had been followed by a group of silent lizards. Mariel attempted to challenge and intimidate them, but the lizards made no move. The party left the swamp and traversed some hills to reach the coastline. There, they met a kindly old dormouse named Bobbo, who brought them home for tea. After introducing them to his pet newt Firl, Bobbo told them his life story— he was captured by Gabool the Wild and became a galley slave, but was left for dead.

As the rest turned in for the night, Mariel asked Bobbo for directions to Terramort, who told her about a swallow ornament that "cannot fly south", a primitive compass. The next day, Bobbo led them to a deep pool. At the bottom was the swallow, trapped between two rocks and guarded by an enormous lobster. The five animals threw food into the water to satiate the crustacean's appetite, and Mariel and Dandin descended into the murky, forbidding depths to retrieve the swallow.

Book 3: The Sound of a Bell!

The Search for the Swallow

After suffering an ignominious defeat, Greypatch hatched a new plan to attack the Abbey: fire-swingers! Greypatch convinced his sceptical crew to create scores of miniature boulders wrapped in flammable substances. Tied to vines and swung like oversized bolas, they made formidable incendiary weapons. Since none of their weapons could match the range of a fire-swinger, the Redwallers were defenceless against the onslaught of missiles. However, Colonel Clary, Brigadier Thyme, and Hon Rosie made their way to the Abbey and constructed special arrows out of yew staves. The well-trained hares stood on the Abbey ramparts and fired their far-reaching longbows, felling several of Greypatch's rats. Pandemonium broke out among the searats, and they retreated out of range of the Abbey.

As the creature of the Abbey put up a valiant defence, Dandin and Mariel encountered unexpected difficulties in their pursuit of the swallow. Dandin, with sword in paw, protected Mariel as she trisd to dislodge the swallow. Mariel found that the metal swallow was wedged firmly between two rocks, and her vigorous motions to free it attracted the attention of the lobster. During the frenzied melee, Dandin dropped the Sword of Martin and was immobilized, with the creature's claws at his back.

Mariel caught the sword and dealt the lobster a terrible blow, allowing Dandin to be rescued, hauled up on the rope around his waist. Unfortunately, the lobster wheeled around and locked onto the Sword of Martin. A tug-of-war ensued as Mariel was pulled up by her rope and the lobster clutched doggedly onto the opposite end of the sword. However, it releases its grip after being pelted by several rocks from the surface. Mariel and Dandin gasped for air on the shore, thankful to be alive but despondent at their failure to retrieve the swallow. With a twinkle in his eye, Bobbo handed them the swallow, explaining that Firl retrieved the swallow during the confusion. Bobbo then directed them to the burned out hulk of ''Greenfang'', which remained seaworthy despite the damage. After a tearful farewell, the four questers set sail for Terramort, directed by the magnetic swallow.

In the aftermath of Greypatch's attack, the hares and Mother Mellus discussed strategy. Though Redwall was secure from any pirate assault, Mother Mellus voiced her concern about the mistreated oarslaves held captive by Greypatch. In a commendable show of bravery, Clary readily agrees to do whatever he can to free them.

In the twilight, the three hares embarked on a covert mission to the pirate camp. As the tension mounted, Hon Rosie could not contain her mirth and let off a tremendous “Whoohahahahooh,” her signature, high-decibel laugh. All activity in the searat camp ceased and the hares were forced to flee. However, they managed to rescue two shrews during the turmoil.

Greypatch, infuriated by the incident and ordered tripwires and other traps to be set around the camp perimeter. Upon discovering these devices, Clary had Foremole dig a tunnel to the oarslaves. In the middle of the night, sleepy rats were surprised to see pairs of slaves vanishing straight into the ground. The internal conflict among the searats escalated into a duel for leadership between Bigfang and Greypatch. Greypatch overwhelmed Bigfang, forcing him into a campfire and killed him with a swift spear throw.

Diverging Roads to Terramort

Meanwhile, the travellers to Terramort were having problems of their own. In the thick fog wreathing the ocean, Mariel and Tarquin were unable to see a large ship bearing down on them. One of Gabool's ships named the ''Seatalon'' rammed the ''Greenfang'' and all four travellers were thrown into the sea. Dandin and Durry were captured by the pirate ship. Mariel and Tarquin treaded water, using the hare's harolina as a float.

The ''Seatalon''’s captain, Catseyes, took Dandin’s sword for himself and consigned Dandin and Durry to the galleys as oarslaves. The two were treated cruelly by slavemaster Blodge and his puny assistant Clatt, who forced the slaves to row for Terramort. At night, however, a hooded mouse with silvery fur came aboard and handed out files to the slaves. He approached Captain Catseyes, claiming to be a courier from Gabool. The enigmatic mouse slayed Catseyes with a thrust from a dagger, and led a revolt to take over the ''Seatalon''. Only then did he reveal his identity: Joseph the Bellmaker!

As for Mariel and Tarquin, they struggled to stay afloat and held an animated conversation until they are lifted aboard the ''Waveblade'' by Lord Rawnblade. They arrayed themselves in the searat regalia and landed at Terramort without being identified, despite a harrowing encounter with two pirate ships.

Last Stand of the Long Patrol

In the meantime, Colonel Clary, Brigadier Thyme, and the Honorable Rosie had run out of options. With Greypatch reaffirmed as leader, the remaining captive oarslaves and Pakatugg were secured in a cage made of branches. The hares decided that the only way to free the oarslaves would be at the cost of their lives. Heavily armed, they approached Greypatch’s camp and ordered Oak Tom, Treerose, and Rufe Brush to spirit away the oarslaves at their signal.

Upon entering the camp, the hares loosed shaft after shaft into the charging corsairs from their deadly longbows. Clary tossed Pakatugg a knife, and the lean squirrel bravely volunteers to die with the hares. When the hares finally exhausted their supply of arrows, the hares and Pakatugg brandished their lances and charged straight into the middle of the pirate crew with one last cry of “Eulaliaaaa!”

Weeping, the three squirrels made their way to Redwall with the last of the oarslaves. Upon hearing the news of the long patrol's last stand, Mother Mellus and Flagg set out in the direction of the searat camp. They stumbled upon two searats preparing to deal the killing blow to Hon Rosie, but killed them before they had a chance. With the aid of Oak Tom and Rufe Brush, they carried the gravely wounded Hon Rosie to Redwall. Left with eighteen corsairs out of his former hundred, Greypatch finally decided to pack up and return to the ''Darkqueen''.

At Terramort, Gabool and his captains saw the large form of Lord Rawnblade from afar. Three searat crews were dispatched to slay the badger. Once ashore, Rawnblade, Mariel, and Tarquin spotted Dandin and Durry. They met up, with the hordes of searats just behind them, and ran among some large rocks. Durry pushed aside a massive boulder, revealing the tunnel to Joseph's secret hideout.

The Final Battle

As Durry broke the news to Mariel that her father was alive, the exuberant mousemaid, thrilled beyond measure, snatched the party's sole torch and rushed down the tunnel only to be met with the hundreds of Terramort Resistance Against Gabool fighters. Joseph related his story and the two organised a large army of oarslaves dedicated to the destruction of Terramort.

After an argument over who would be the one to kill Gabool, Joseph uncovered his plan for a three-pronged assault on Fort Bladegirt through several tunnels. Mariel and Joseph would attack the fort from opposite sides as Tarquin battered down the main gates with a ram. Lord Rawnblade planned to break through the walls with a massive boulder and charge in. At first, the plan worked perfectly and the searats were completely caught off guard.

Mariel and Joseph's slingers were cut down by arrow fire, Tarquin provided a loud distraction by ramming the gates. As Gabool fearfully watched the onslaught, Rawnblade entered the battle. Assailed by three searats at once, Joseph would have lost his life were it not for the timely intervention of Mariel's Gullwhacker.

Into Gabool's Lair

When the path was clear, Dandin, Mariel, Joseph, Durry, and Tarquin rushed into the fort after Rawnblade, who had gone in before them. Rawnblade, full of the bloodwrath, fearlessly banged on Gabool's bell, challenging the pirate king. Gabool thrust a dagger into the badger's chest and quickly retreated further into his lair. Fortunately, Rawnblade's breastplate absorbed the impact. Mariel and the rest arrived as Rawnblade split the door into two halves and set off, hard on the heels of Gabool.

In the meantime, Gabool had set a trap. As his pursuers confronted him, he taunted Rawnblade, who furiously charged toward him. When the badger stepped on a carpet between him and Gabool, he plummeted down into a dark pit. A scorpion, Skrabblag, residing in the pit, quickly moved to attack. The spirit of Martin, however, took control of Rawnblade and prompted the badger to fling the poisonous creature out of the pit and onto the face of Gabool. The scorpion grippong, the searat with its pincers, struck Gabool's head with its lethal stinger. Skrabblag detached himself from Gabool as the former pirate king convulsed and died. Dandin quickly killed the creature before it could do further harm, and the party left Terramort forever.

Durry, Tarquin, Dandin, and Joseph each commandeered one of the abandoned pirate ships, and set sail for Redwall with the Trag warriors and the bell. When they reached their destination, all Redwall came to greet them. An enormous feast was prepared, thereafter known as the Feast of the Bell Rising, so named for Rawnblade's generous gift to the Abbey. Dandin's friend Saxtus became Abbot, and Rufe Brush tied Martin's sword to the roof of the Abbey, where it was later found by Samkim in the book ''Salamandastron''. The famed Gullwhacker became the bellpull for the new Joseph Bell, and its owner accompanied Dandin as they sought out new adventures.

Translations

The Dutch translation by Annemarie Hormann does not include the final two chapters. Also, due to some alterations to the ending, the heroes never capture the ''Nightwake'', the book ends with three ships sailing away as opposed to the four in the original version.

Joe Moore (Gene Hackman) runs a ring of professional thieves, which includes Bobby Blane (Delroy Lindo), Donnie "Pinky" Pincus (Ricky Jay) and Joe's wife Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon). During a robbery of a New York City jewelry store, Joe's face is captured by a security camera after he takes off his mask in an attempt to distract the store's last remaining employee. As both the picture and a witness can identify him, Joe retires from crime and plans to disappear on his sail boat with his wife.

This does not sit well with Joe's fence, Mickey Bergman (Danny DeVito), who runs a garment business as a front. After accruing a number of expenses in setting up another robbery, Bergman decides to withhold the payment due to Joe and his crew. He insists they go through with the other job — robbing an airplane carrying a large shipment of gold. Bergman further insists that his nephew, Jimmy Silk (Sam Rockwell), be a part of the crew. Joe accepts, but a series of shifting loyalties changes the complexity of their task, including Jimmy's interest in Joe's wife and Bergman and Jimmy's belief that Joe's skills are declining.

While setting up the plan for the robbery, they are stopped by a passing officer. While Joe and Bobby talk the officer into leaving, an agitated Jimmy draws his gun but is stopped by Pinky. He forces his team out of finishing the job after he finds out that Pinky didn't destroy the getaway car, covered in the team's fingerprints. Bergman does not accept the team's departure and forces them to finish the job.

The plane robbery is a series of misdirects. Pinky poses as a guard while Joe, Bobby and Jimmy pose as airport security personnel. They stop the jet, pretending to be responding to an emergency. They fill a van with what they take from the plane, then move the van to a rented garage on the airport grounds, where they re-brand it and call for a tow truck to have it hauled away.

Jimmy betrays the others to steal the gold and Fran. He knocks out Joe and tells Fran he knew Joe changed the plan. He and Fran take the van, but Jimmy finds out that the hidden compartments are filled with metal washers. Joe avoids arrest and returns to the plane in disguise. He and Bobby remove a shipment of goods they had booked on board the same Swiss flight, which they insist now must be driven to its destination due to the plane's delay. Inside the shipment is the stolen gold, which Joe and Bobby melt into long rods.

Bergman apprehends Pinky, who is walking his niece to the school bus. Pinky discloses the plan in order to save his niece, but he tips Joe with a code word during a phone call and is killed after. Bergman and his crew arrive at Joe's sail boat along with Jimmy and Fran, where they hold Joe at gunpoint. They assume that the boat's golden railings are the gold. Fran leaves with Jimmy, pleading with Bergman to let Joe go. Just as Bergman discovers that the railings are not the gold, a hidden Bobby opens fire. Bergman's men are killed and Joe kills Bergman.

Bobby gives Joe the address to send his share. Joe waits to meet Fran with a truck filled with black-painted rods, but Fran, having switched sides, holds up Joe with Jimmy, taking that truck. Joe gets into a second truck to leave. A black bar in the truck scrapes the garage door, revealing gold underneath. Joe lifts a tarp in the truck bed, revealing the gold rods. He covers the rods with the tarpaulin and drives away.

Sheriff J.P. Harrah comes into the town of El Dorado to talk to his old friend, gun-for-hire Cole Thornton, who has just arrived in response to a mysterious job offer from wealthy landowner Bart Jason. Harrah reveals to Thornton that Jason is actually trying to muscle the honest MacDonald family from their land. Thornton agrees to turn down the job and rides out to Jason's ranch to tell him so.

Kevin MacDonald and his family hear about Thornton's arrival and fear the worst. The youngest son Luke is made sentry, but falls asleep at his post. As Thornton returns from his confrontation with Jason, Luke is startled awake and fires. Thornton reflexively fires back and wounds Luke in the stomach, and Luke commits suicide before Thornton can stop him, believing his wound fatal. Feeling guilty, Thornton brings the body to the farmhouse and tells Kevin what happened. The only daughter of the MacDonald clan, Joey, rides off before she can hear the truth, and shoots Thornton on his way back to town. Thornton survives, but the bullet has lodged against his spine. Local medic Doc Miller cannot remove it, so Thornton departs after healing, despite the protests of local saloon owner Maudie, who has feelings for him. Over time, the bullet in his back presses against his spine, causing bouts of temporary paralysis in his right side.

Six months later, Thornton is in a saloon out of town, having avoided El Dorado. He witnesses a naive young man, "Mississippi" Traherne, confronting and killing Charlie Hagin, who killed Mississippi's foster father. Thornton steps in to save Mississippi from retaliation from Charlie's friends, Milt and Pedro. Their employer, famed gunslinger Nelse McLeod, is impressed, and offers Thornton a job in El Dorado, revealing that he has accepted Bart Jason's job offer and that Harrah became a drunk after a girl ran out on him.

Thornton refuses McLeod, and he and Mississippi return to El Dorado ahead of McLeod. They meet with Maudie and Harrah's deputy, Bull, who confirm Nelse's story. After a fistfight with the drunken Harrah, Thornton agrees to use a sobering concoction made by Mississippi to bring Harrah around, with violently effective results. Harrah, ashamed to be the laughingstock that he has become, agrees to stay sober.

After three men shoot one of the MacDonalds, Thornton, Bull, Mississippi and Harrah hunt the men into an old church and gun them down. One man escapes, leading them straight to Jason, whom Harrah arrests and holds for trial. Mississippi stops Joey from killing Jason on the walk back to the jail, and the two begin a relationship.

Bull officially deputizes Mississippi and Thornton. They patrol the town to keep the peace, stopping an attempted attack by McLeod's gang on the jail, during which Harrah is hobbled by a bullet to the leg. Maudie brings them some supplies while they are holed up in the jail, and McLeod's men start harassing her and her patrons. Thornton and Mississippi go to rescue them, but Thornton suffers an attack of paralysis and is captured by McLeod. Harrah agrees to trade Jason for Thornton and leave town, despite Thornton's protests.

Jason and McLeod's men kidnap Saul MacDonald and demand that Kevin turn over his water rights for the return of his son. Rightly suspecting that Jason will kill both Saul and Kevin once he has the water rights, Thornton rides a wagon up to the front door of Jason's saloon while Harrah, Bull and Mississippi sneak in the back. Once Bull gives a signal, Thornton opens fire, killing McLeod, while the rest free Saul. Joey shoots Jason, saving Thornton from being shot and making amends for her previous mistake. Doc Miller's new assistant Dr. Donovan agrees to operate on Thornton if he stays in town, and Thornton implies that he may stop wandering to stay with Maudie.

Late in 1969, a brilliant young United States Navy intelligence officer, Charles Rone, finds his commission revoked so that he can be recruited into an espionage mission to retrieve a fake letter showing an alliance between the West and the Soviet Union against China. Rone is told that the mission is being undertaken independently of governmental intelligence agencies, as was commonplace prior to World War II, when espionage operations were handled by a small community of agents operating on a freelance basis.

Rone is told that the primary operator in that community, a "brutal, sadistic, conscienceless assassin" named Robert Sturdevant, did not adapt to the post-war shift to government intelligence agencies, along with the disbanding of the independent network of spies, with Sturdevant disappearing and reportedly later committing suicide. Now, the government has suffered a significant failure in an important intelligence operation and has turned back to the independent agents for help.

This time, "The Highwayman", another member of the old group of independent spies is the man leading the effort to reassemble the network to take on this mission. Another member of the group has recently died, and Rone has been tabbed as his replacement, due to Rone's exceptional analytical skills, eidetic memory and ability to speak eight languages with a native accent.

Rone meets with The Highwayman and another group member, Ward, the latter of whom takes on the role of Rone's primary tutor. They first task Rone with rounding up three other members of the group: Janis, "The Whore", a drug dealer and panderer; "The Warlock", a culturally sophisticated homosexual; and "The Erector Set", a highly skilled thief and burglar.

Janis begs off of the mission, saying that he won't work for The Highwayman, but only for Sturdevant, whom he believes would never have killed himself. Rone finally bribes him into agreeing to participate. The Warlock joins the operation without hesitation, but The Erector Set's hands have become too arthritic to be of use. Instead, he sends his beautiful daughter, B.A., in his place, as he has trained her to be as capable as is he.

The group's mission is the retrieval of a letter, written without proper authorization, that promises United States aid to the Soviet Union in destroying Chinese atomic weapons plants. The letter had been solicited on behalf of an unknown high-level Soviet official by Dmitri Polyakov, who had previously been selling Soviet secrets to the United States that he had obtained from that same Soviet official. Upon finding out about the letter, which was a de facto "declaration of war against China", U.S. and British authorities had contacted Polyakov and arranged to buy it back from him. However, Polyakov then committed suicide after being apprehended by Soviet counter-intelligence, under the direction of Colonel Yakov Kosnov.

The group blackmails Captain Potkin, the Soviet head of counter-intelligence in the U.S., threatening his family to force him to allow them the use of his usually-vacant apartment in Moscow. Once they arrive in the Soviet Union, the terminally ill Highwayman sacrifices his life, attempting to divert the attention of Soviet counter-intelligence away from the remainder of the team. Rone is assigned to remain at the apartment with Ward and accept reports verbally from other team members, Rone's memory allowing them to avoid the use of written records. Janis, The Warlock and B.A. then set out to establish themselves in various parts of Russian society as they try to ascertain the identity of Polyakov's contact.

Janis enters a partnership with a local brothel operator, who points him to a Chinese man known as "The Kitai" as a possible source for names of officials and others to whom he can sell heroin, with which Janis already plans to keep the prostitutes addicted. Janis later discerns that the Kitai is also a spy and further happens to spot Kosnov leaving a local night club with a woman whom he discovers was Polyakov's devoted wife, Erika Beck. She is now married to Kosnov, so B.A. plants a listening device in their bedroom. After that, B.A. takes up with a local small-time thief and black market operator, though she finds herself terribly unhappy and wishes only to return home to her father. In the meantime, the Warlock integrates himself into the local community of intellectual homosexuals, starting an affair with a university professor. He then meets one of the professor's students who was Polyakov's former lover and who informs him that Polyakov had had a relationship with Vladimir Bresnavitch of the Soviet Central Committee.

Bresnavitch turns out to have an adversarial relationship with Kosnov, whose activities Bresnavitch oversees on behalf of the Committee. According to Kosnov, the animosity between the two men went back many years to when Bresnavitch sought to oust Kosnov from his job, in favor of Sturdevant. Prior to that time, Kosnov and Sturdevant had been friendly, with each one trusting the other to allow his agents to operate in the other's territory. However, with the pressure from Bresnavitch, Kosnov decided he had to do "something spectacular" to keep his job, so he betrayed Sturdevant's trust and captured his agents, employing a great deal of brutality and earning the lasting enmity of Sturdevant himself.

Upon deducing that Bresnavitch had used Polyakov to fence stolen art works in Paris, Ward decides to go there in search of any possible leads. On the day of his return, the group's mission is destroyed when Potkin returns to the Soviet Union and informs Bresnavitch about the operation. Janis, B.A. and Ward are apprehended, while The Warlock commits suicide just before capture and Rone narrowly escapes. Rone tries visiting the Kitai to arrange re-purchase of the letter, but the Kitai responds by trying to kill him and Rone determines that the Chinese have possession of the letter.

Rone then turns to Erika, with whom he has been having an affair while posing as a Russian gigolo named Yorgi. He hopes to get her to inquire with her husband about the condition of those captured. She informs him that Kosnov participated in no such capture, and Rone realizes that Bresnavitch quietly orchestrated the raid without the knowledge of Soviet counter-intelligence, a clear indicator that he was Polyakov's traitorous high-level Soviet official contact. Rone's questions reveal to Erika his true identity and he promises to help her escape to the West. She tells him she will try to ascertain the fates of the captured agents and later reports back that B.A. has taken poison and is expected to die, while one of the men is dead and the other has survived and is being held captive.

Rone threatens to expose Bresnavitch unless Ward, the surviving agent, is released. Bresnavitch agrees, and Rone and Ward then arrange to leave the next day. Disapproving of Rone's plans to aid Erika, Ward lures her into a trap and kills her. Kosnov believes that her lover Yorgi killed her and tracks down Rone, though unaware of Rone's true identity, in search of revenge. But Ward enters, leading Kosnov to observe that "I seem to know you." Ward says that the two men have "a lot of old corpses to dig up and talk about." He begins listing the names of the agents betrayed by Kosnov and says that the time has come for retribution, as he shoots Kosnov in the kneecap. Kosnov stares at Ward in disbelief, saying "No, it isn't. It can't be." Ward then closes on him off-camera and Kosnov begins screaming in torment.

As they head for a plane to leave the country, Rone shares with Ward his conclusions that Ward is in fact Sturdevant and intends to stay, having made a deal with Bresnavitch to take over as the head of Soviet counter-intelligence. Ward denies it, but only coyly, and then reveals that B.A. is not dead. He says that she will be held to ensure that Rone does not reveal the truth about him. Rone, very much in love with B.A., vows that he'll get her back somehow. Ward offers to release B.A. if Rone does "one last little thing", handing Rone an envelope as Rone boards the plane. After seating himself, Rone opens the envelope to find a note which reads, "Kill Potkin's wife and daughters or I kill the girl."

Leonora, a middle-aged prostitute, is despondent over the death of her daughter. Cenci, a lonely young woman, follows Leonora to the cemetery and strikes up a conversation with her, inviting Leonora to her home. Leonora is struck by the likeness between Cenci and her late daughter.

A resemblance of Leonora to Cenci's late mother becomes obvious once Leonora notices a portrait. Cenci, who is 22 but looks and acts much younger, asks Leonora to stay. A lie is told to her aunts, Hilda and Hannah, that Leonora is actually Cenci's late mother's cousin.

Cenci is found one day cowering under a table. Albert, her stepfather, has paid a visit. Cenci is terrified of him, claiming that Albert had raped her. Leonora is repelled by the man's presence until Albert tells her that Cenci is mentally unstable and had repeatedly tried to seduce him.

On a beach one day, Cenci and Albert have sexual relations. A despondent Cenci commits suicide. At the funeral, Leonora now knows whom she chooses to believe. After standing beside Albert in silence during the burial, Leonora produces a knife and stabs him.

The film ends with Leonora lying in the apartment of her bedroom, listlessly hitting the cord of a ceiling lamp, reciting a poem about perseverance.

With much anguish, an unwed Mother abandons her child, placing him in an expensive automobile with a handwritten note: "Please love and care for this orphan child". Two thieves steal the car and leave the baby in an alley, where he is found by The Tramp. After some attempts to hand off the child on to various passers-by, he finds the note and his heart melts. He takes the boy home, names him John and adjusts his household furniture for him. Meanwhile, the Mother has a change of heart and returns for her baby; when she learns that the car has been stolen, she faints.

Five years pass. The Kid and the Tramp live in the same tiny room; they have little money but much love. They support themselves in a minor scheme: the Kid throws stones to break windows so that the Tramp, working as a glazier, can be paid to repair them. Meanwhile, the Mother has become a wealthy actress and does charity by giving presents to poor children. By chance, as she does so, the Mother and the Kid unknowingly cross paths.

The Kid later gets into a fight with another local boy as people in the area gather to watch the spectacle. The Kid wins, drawing the ire of the other boy's older brother, who attacks the Tramp as a result. The Mother breaks up the fight, but it starts again after she leaves and the Tramp keeps beating the "Big Brother" over the head with a brick between swings until he totters away.

Shortly afterward, the Mother advises the Tramp to call a doctor after the Kid falls ill. The doctor discovers that the Tramp is not the Kid's father and notifies authorities. Two men come to take the boy to an orphanage, but after a fight and a chase, the Tramp and the boy remain side by side. When the Mother comes back to see how the boy is doing she encounters the doctor, who shows her the note (which he had taken from the Tramp); she recognizes it as the one she left with her baby years ago.

Now fugitives, the Tramp and the boy spend the night in a flophouse. Its proprietor learns of a $1,000 reward offered by the authorities and takes the Kid to the police station, while the Tramp is asleep. As the tearful Mother is reunited with her long-lost child, the Tramp searches frantically for the missing boy. Unsuccessful, he returns to the doorway of their humble lodgings, where he falls asleep, entering a "Dreamland" where his neighbors have turned into angels and devils. A policeman awakes him and drives him off to a mansion. There the door is opened by the Mother and the Kid, who jumps into the Tramp's arms, and he is welcomed in.

Days from turning 40, Russ Duritz is a successful but abrasive image consultant in Los Angeles and has a strained relationship with his father. Returning home one day he finds a toy plane on his porch and a strange boy indoors, whom he chases through the streets.

After seeing the boy enter a diner, Russ finds no sign of him inside. Thinking he is hallucinating, he visits a psychiatrist, but finds the same boy on his couch eating popcorn and watching TV when he returns home. The boy says his name is Rusty and that he was just searching for his toy plane.

Seeing a resemblance, Russ compares memories and birthmarks and realizes Rusty is actually himself as a kid. After questioning Russ, Rusty tells him, "I grow up to be a loser." Rusty dreams of owning a dog naming Chester and flying planes, but Russ gave up on those dreams.

Russ's co-worker Amy thinks that Russ and Rusty are father and son and accuses him of being a dead-beat dad. Rusty assures her he is not his son and implores Russ to tell her the truth, but he thinks she'd never believe them. Amy realizes the truth while watching the two argue, as they are nearly identical.

In response to Rusty's questions about how he became Russ, he tells him about his scholarship to UCLA and working for six years to get a master's degree and change himself to who he is. Rusty understands Russ's job as an image consultant to be training people to pretend to be somebody else.

Russ cancels his appointments and spends the day with Rusty, trying to figure out what from the past needs to be fixed to get him back home. Driving through a tunnel, Russ recalls a fight he lost with some bullies who were abusing a three-legged dog. They emerge from the tunnel into Rusty's eighth birthday in 1968.

Russ helps Rusty win the fight and save the dog, but realizes that was only the first half of the ordeal. His terminally ill mother is called to take him home, where Rusty's father angrily berates him for getting into trouble and causing his mother further stress. Rusty breaks down and his father harshly tells him to grow up, making Russ realize why he is the way he is today.

Tearfully, Russ assures Rusty that he was not responsible for his mother's death, and that his father's outburst was not because he truly believed Rusty was responsible, but simply because he was scared about the prospect of raising him alone.

They celebrate their birthday, but realize their efforts to change the outcome of the day have failed, as their father's outburst left Rusty emotionally scarred in both cases. When a dog named Chester greets Rusty, they find that his owner is an older version of them who owns planes and has a family with Amy.

Realizing that Rusty's appearance was meant to change his own ways rather than Rusty's, Russ arranges to see his father and, with a puppy, visits Amy, who invites him into her home.

In 1880, a gambler in the small town of Rincon, 100 miles from Denver, Colorado, is caught cheating at a five-card stud poker game. The players, led by the volatile Nick Evers, take the cheating gambler to lynch him. One of the players, Van Morgan, tries to prevent the others from administering frontier justice, but is unable to stop the killing. Morgan leaves town, but later returns when he hears that several of the other players from the poker game have become victims of grisly murders.

The town has a new resident, a stern and somewhat edgy Colt .45-carrying Baptist preacher named Reverend Rudd. As more members of the lynch mob are killed off one by one, it becomes clear that someone is taking revenge, and it is up to Morgan to solve the mystery. When Morgan is the last man from the poker game left alive, he realizes that Rudd is the murderer, and he kills Rudd in a shootout.

1939, Bodega Bay Inn, California: An old puppeteer named André Toulon is putting the finishing touches on his newest puppet, Jester, before he brings it to life. Two Nazi spies arrive and head for Toulon's room while Kahn, another living puppet, warns him. Toulon calmly places all the animate puppets in a chest and hides it in a wall panel compartment. As the Nazis break down the door, Toulon commits suicide.

Present day: Four psychics miles apart are all "''contacted''" by Neil Gallagher, all five of them previously being acquaintances: Professor Alex Whitaker through a nightmare involving Neil and leeches, Dana Hadley via a premonition of her own death, and psychic researchers Frank Forrester and Carissa Stamford through unspecified means. Dana has also uncovered Toulon's "hiding place" and tells the others, arranging a meeting at the Bodega Bay Inn, where Neil resides. Upon arrival, they are surprised to find that not only does Neil have a wife, Megan, but that he has also killed himself, leaving instructions for Megan on the others’ arrival. She leaves them with the body to pay respects and Dana stabs a long pin into Neil's corpse to verify that he is in fact dead.

While getting settled into their rooms, the psychics experience different confusing visions of Neil. That night at dinner, Dana intentionally riles Megan, causing her to leave the table and Pinhead, another animated doll, crawls out of Neil's casket. Alex follows Megan and tells her their history with her husband. Carissa, a psychometrist, can see any object's emotional history by touching it, Dana can tell fortunes and locate items and people, and Alex himself can foresee the future in his dreams. Neil was researching alchemy and with Frank's help discovered that Ancient Egyptians had created a method of reanimating inanimate figurines, a power also discovered by André Toulon, the last true alchemist. But because Neil had not made contact with them in a while, Dana and the rest thought that he had abandoned them and took whatever he was looking for for himself, and they are there to take it and settle the score.

That night, Theresa the housekeeper attends to the fire and is attacked by Pinhead with a poker, fulfilling Dana's fortune for her. Gallagher's body has moved to a chair which Megan finds, causing her to faint; Alex attends to her while the others return the body to the casket. After Blade finds protective spells on Alex and Dana's rooms, he moves on to Carissa and Frank's, who are having very loud sex and disrupting Alex and Dana's sleep. Two more puppets, Tunneler and Leech Woman, enter. Tunneler kills Carissa by drilling into her face when she inspects a noise coming from under the bed and Leech Woman regurgitates leeches onto Frank, who's tied to the bed, draining his blood. Returning from a walk, Dana finds Gallagher's body in her room and she is attacked by Pinhead, who breaks her leg. Pinhead chases her and repeatedly strangles and punches her until she manages to knock him away and crawl to the elevator, only to have her throat slit by Blade, fulfilling her fortune.

Alex suffers more nightmares, eventually woken by Megan, who shows him Toulon's diary and tells him that Neil found Toulon's secret to reanimation. Alex has a vision of Neil and they rush downstairs to escape but find the bodies of Dana, Frank and Carissa sitting around the dining table accompanied by the newly resurrected Neil. He explains that while he did commit suicide, he used Toulon's secrets to become reanimated himself in an effort to become immortal. He reveals that he killed Megan's parents and expresses disgust for the puppets, violently throwing Jester, now satisfied to have human puppets to experiment with. The other puppets witness this and descend on Neil; Tunneler takes out his legs and Blade pins him down while Leech Woman regurgitates a leech into his mouth and Pinhead finally breaks his neck. The next day, Megan sees Alex off and as she ascends the stairs, she brings Dana's stuffed dog Leroy to life.

Glamorous assassin Irma Eckman (Elke Sommer), disguised as an air stewardess, kills oil tycoon Henry Keller (Dervis Ward) with a booby-trapped cigar aboard his private jet, parachuting away before the plane explodes. She is picked up by a speedboat driven by her partner in crime, the equally beautiful Penelope (Sylva Koscina). The villainous pair then murder David Wyngarde (John Stone), making it look like a spear fishing accident. Sir John Bledlow (Laurence Naismith), one of the directors of Phoenecian Oil, suspects that both deaths were the result of foul play; he had received an urgent message from Wyngarde that he needed to get in touch with Keller regarding a "matter of life and death". He asks Wyngarde's friend, Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond (Richard Johnson), to investigate.

A representative of an unknown party had approached Phoenecian and offered to overcome Keller's opposition to a merger with Phoenician within six months for one million pounds. Irma shows up at a board meeting to collect. However, the board is divided – with Henry Bridgenorth (Leonard Rossiter) being the most vocal in opposition – and the vote is five to four against paying. That night, Irma and Penelope visit Bridgenorth at his apartment, with fatal results. When the board reconvenes, the directors vote unanimously to pay.

Carloggio (George Pastell), Wyngarde's servant, delivers a tiny bit of a taped message Wyngarde had recorded. Only part of one sentence remains (the assassins stole the rest). Irma and Penelope silence Carloggio, then Penelope delivers a box of deadly cigars to Drummond's flat while he is out. Brenda (Virginia North), a girl Drummond's nephew Robert (Steve Carlson) has brought back to the flat, narrowly escapes the same fate as Keller. Later that night, another attempt is made on Drummond's life.

The next day, Irma makes Phoenecian another proposition: to get them the oil concession in the country of Akmata, despite the King's determination to develop the oil fields himself, for another million pounds. Drummond realises that the King's assassination is what the garbled tape was referring to. Meanwhile, Penelope abducts and tortures Robert, but he can tell her nothing. Drummond follows Irma back to their flat and is able to rescue Robert before he is blown up by a bomb left behind by the two women. He is then astonished to discover that Robert is an old college friend of the Akmatan King Fedra (Zia Mohyeddin).

Irma does away with Weston (Nigel Green), another Phoenecian board member. Drummond travels to the Mediterranean coast. After meeting and warning King Fedra, he is invited to a castle owned by the wealthy Carl Petersen, the genius behind the assassinations. It turns out that Petersen is none other than Weston. Drummond is not allowed to leave the castle. Irma attempts to seduce Drummond to distract him, but to her fury, he rejects her advances. Grace (Suzanna Leigh), one of Petersen's women, confides her desire to leave to Drummond, but Petersen is watching and listening electronically. Penelope is more successful in being Drummond's minder for Petersen and spends the night in Drummond's bed.

Petersen gives Grace a "second chance"; she uses the opportunity to board the King's yacht as soon as she has the chance, just as Petersen had planned. While playing chess against Petersen with giant motorized pieces, Drummond learns that Grace is unwittingly carrying the bomb intended for the King. He kills Petersen's bodyguard Chang (Milton Reid) and drops Petersen into the hole through which a chess piece is removed from play.

Drummond and Robert race to the King's yacht, capturing Irma and Penelope along the way, and bringing them along. When Irma and Penelope refuse to tell him where the bomb is hidden, Drummond searches Grace for the explosive, finally stripping her naked and throwing her overboard. When the guard holding Irma and Penelope at gunpoint is distracted by this, the pair escape. As they race away in a speedboat, Irma reveals that the bomb is in Grace's hairclip. Penelope is aghast; having envied Grace's chignon, she stole it and is wearing it. The two assassins are killed when it explodes. Meanwhile, Drummond and Robert dive into the sea to rescue Grace.

A series of inexplicable accidents befall the development of the world's first supersonic airliner, the SST1 – a man falls victim to a homicidal air stewardess (an uncredited Maria Aitken) and two women (Yutte Stensgaard and an uncredited Joanna Lumley) perform separate acts of sabotage during tests. The Air Ministry calls on Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond (Richard Johnson) to investigate.

Aided by ditzy American blonde Flicky (Sydne Rome), Drummond uncovers a plot by criminal mastermind Carl Petersen (James Villiers), who stands to gain eight million pounds if the aircraft is not ready by a certain date. Petersen, assisted by beautiful but deadly assassins Helga (Daliah Lavi) and Pandora (Beba Lončar), has developed a number of robots: beautiful girls with electronic brains to help him sabotage the SST1 project by means of infrasound (sound waves with too low frequency to be detected by the human ear) which can be directed at people or objects with devastating results.

After the initial sabotage attacks by Peterson's robots, Helga and Pandora begin systematically murdering various people associated with the SSTI, such as engineer Dudley Mortimer (Maurice Denham) and Miss Mary (Robert Morley), a spy who runs a cooking class as a front for his activities. Helga makes contact with Drummond at a shooting party, and attempts to kill him by planting a bomb in his telephone after sleeping with him. Then Helga and Pandora try to kill Drummond again by crashing into his glider. The ripcord from his parachute was sabotaged but Drummond manages to manually open his parachute and escape death.

The trail leads Drummond to North Africa, following up on a lead on an infrasound-powered powerboat, where he is assisted by Peregrine Carruthers (Ronnie Stevens) from the British Embassy. Pandora kills the boat owner with a miniature infrasound device, but is thwarted in her attempt to steal the boat. Drummond and Peregrine decide to drive the powerboat in a scheduled race: Helga and Pandora also participate in the race and successfully capture the men and the boat, delivering them all to Petersen at his island headquarters, staffed by an army of his female robots, including the defective but endearing No. 7 (Vanessa Howard). Drummond and Peregrine are also reunited with Flicky, who has successfully infiltrated Petersen's organisation.

Over dinner, Petersen reveals the full details of his plan to use infrasound technology to sabotage the SST1's maiden flight. That night, Drummond sleeps with Helga once more, while Pandora contents herself with seducing Peregrine. In the morning, Drummond attempts to retrieve the infrasound powerboat and is met by Flicky, who tells him she is actually a CIA agent assigned to help him. They are caught by Helga – Drummond escapes but Helga holds Flicky at gunpoint. Petersen sends his robots to search the island for the runaway agent – Drummond is cornered by No. 7, but to his surprise, she deliberately chooses not to reveal his location.

Peregrine and Flicky are held hostage in Petersen's control room and are forced to witness the SST1's destruction as he puts his plan into action. Drummond scales the wall of Petersen's hideout, and saves the SST1 from destruction by using Petersen's infrasound waves against him, destroying his control room. Petersen, Pandora and Helga are all apparently killed in the explosion.

Drummond, Flicky, Peregrine and No. 7 escape the subsequent mayhem, having retrieved the infrasound device. Flicky reveals herself to be a double agent working for the Russians and escapes on the powerboat with the device. Peregrine, wanting to improve his Russian relations, decides to go with her. As the base finally explodes, Drummond finds comfort in the arms of the beautiful No. 7, who turns out not to be a robot after all.

Inventor Frederick Smith's wife dies during the birth of their fourth baby, Ronnie, leaving the family in the care of their faithful housekeeper Emma. Twenty years later, after Smith's inventions have made the family rich, the affable Ronnie, who is Emma's favorite, arrives home from college, announcing that he wants to quit school and become a pilot. The other Smith children, Bill, Gypsy and Isabelle, have all grown into spoiled adults, but Emma lovingly indulges them all, making excuses for their bad behavior to their father and everyone else.

As Emma leaves for her first vacation in 32 years with the family, the absent-minded Frederick sadly takes her to the station. She gets cold feet and decides to stay home, but Frederick won't let her and decides to go along with her to Niagara Falls. Waiting for their train, Frederick proposes and Emma accepts, even though she is afraid that people will talk. When the children learn about the marriage, Ronnie is happy for them, but the other children are embarrassed by the blot on their social record. On their honeymoon, as the happy Frederick and Emma row on the lake, they are teased by some young vacationers, prompting Frederick to take the oars from Emma. The exertion causes a mild heart attack and they return home. As the contented Frederick listens to Emma sing to him, he dies, and a short time later, the family learns that he has left his entire estate to Emma.

Though Emma wants to give the money back to the children, all of them except Ronnie turn on her and threaten to prove that their father was crazy when he wrote the will. Emma throws them out and awaits the lawsuit they threaten while the loyal Ronnie goes to Canada for a flying assignment. Because the will cannot be broken, the children go to the district attorney to have him bring murder charges against Emma, using distorted testimony by Mathilda, the maid. When Ronnie hears about the trial, he desperately flies East to help Emma but is killed while flying through a dangerous storm.

Even though her life is in peril, she won't allow her kind attorney Haskins to defame the character or motives of the children. Her emotional plea for them in court results in her acquittal, but Emma's relief is ruined when she learns of Ronnie's death. A short time later, Emma gives all of the money to the children, telling Haskins that she hopes that now they will think better of her. After she sadly views Ronnie's body, Isabell, Bill and Gypsy beg her forgiveness and want her to stay with them, but she refuses, saying that her work with them is finished, but no matter what happens or where they all are, they will still belong to each other.

At a new position, Emma happily attends a doctor's large family and is pleased when the wife agrees to name her new baby Ronnie at Emma's request.

Unlike the play ''Joan of Lorraine'', which is a drama that shows how the story of Joan affects a group of actors who are performing it, the film is a straightforward recounting of the life of the French heroine. It begins with an obviously painted shot of the inside of a basilica with a shaft of light, possibly descending from heaven, shining down from the ceiling, and a solemn off-screen voice pronouncing the canonization of the Maid of Orleans. Then, the opening page of what appears to be a church manuscript recounting Joan's life in Latin is shown on the screen, while some uncredited voiceover narration by actor Shepperd Strudwick sets up the tale. The actual story of Joan then begins, from the time she becomes convinced that she has been divinely called to save France to her being burnt at the stake at the hands of the English and the Burgundians.

The film tells the story of two policemen who go undercover to defeat narcotics trafficking among high school gangs. The film features stark scenes of violence between inter-racial gangs.

US/Glickenhaus version

After a patrol in New York City, New York police officers Billy Wong (Jackie Chan) and his partner Michael (Patrick James Clarke) have a drink at a bar. Machine-gun wielding crooks come in to rob the bar and its customers. Michael kills one of the crooks but is fatally gunned down. Wong shoots the rest but is forced to chase the last remaining crook into the New York harbor, resulting in a boat chase in which he kills the gangster by causing an explosion. Wong is demoted to crowd control for the ruckus. Later, he goes to a fashion show party undercover, hosted by a Laura Shapiro (Saun Ellis), the daughter of a locally known gangster Martin Shapiro. At the party, he meets his new partner, Danny Garoni (Danny Aiello), who has also been demoted due to claims of police brutality. In the middle of the fashion show, masked gangsters armed with machine guns storm in and kidnap Laura Shapiro, and nobody knows why. They later learn that crime boss Harold Ko (Roy Chiao) and Martin Shapiro are suspected of smuggling drugs from Hong Kong to New York, and that Ko may have kidnapped Laura and taken her to Hong Kong for ransom. The men get a lead – Shapiro's bodyguard Benny Garrucci (Bill "Superfoot" Wallace) recently made several calls to a Hong Kong massage parlor.

Wong and Garoni go to Hong Kong and investigate the massage parlor. While there, they get massages, but Billy notices that the masseuses are trying to kill them. Billy and Garoni fight off the parlor employees before they are cornered and held at gunpoint by the parlor manager (Shum Wai). The manager questions them, revealing that he knows they are cops, and then threatens to kill them. However, Garoni and Wong overpower him and his men, and leave the parlor.

The next day, Wong and Garoni go to see Hing Lee (Peter Yang) on his boat, and they show him the coin of Tin Ho, an Chinatown informant of Wong's and a friend of Lee's. However, Lee is reluctant to give any information about Harold Ko, noting that he retired and is concerned for his safety. A man named Stan Jones (Kim Bass) gets on the boat, and warns Wong and Garoni they are being followed by the massage parlor manager and his men. Garoni, Jones and Wong easily get rid of the other gangsters, then Wong pursues the parlor manager to get more information, and almost catches him but fails. After witnessing this, Hing Lee agrees to help them, telling the cops to come back the next day after he gets information from various contacts about Ko.

Wong and Garoni head back to their hotel, finding cash in a suitcase on the bed. Harold Ko then calls them, telling them to take the money and leave Hong Kong at once. During the phone call, they are attacked by Ko's men. Wong and Garoni prevail, but when Wong attempts to interrogate one of them, the gangster sets off a grenade in a suicide attempt to kill them. They are taken to the police station in Hong Kong, where they are scolded by the Royal Hong Kong Police chief superintendent Whitehead (Richard Clarke) for the ruckus. Whitehead refuses to believe that Ko was behind the most recent attack, and tells the cops about Ko's charitable reputation in Hong Kong, informing them that at a press conference Ko will announce that all the winnings from a race horse he owns will be donated to charity. The next day, Garoni and Wong arrive at Ko's press conference (where Benny Garucci is also present) and embarrass Ko by publicly showing the crowd his attempted bribe to them.

The next day, Wong, Jones, and Hing Lee's daughter Siu Ling (Moon Lee) visit Mr. Lee to see what he found, while Garoni follows Garrucci. But instead, they see that Hing Lee has been killed and his boat burned. At a loss for information, Wong and Siu Ling visit a fortune teller. The fortune teller cryptically informs them that Garruci has come to Hong Kong to make an exchange for Laura Shapiro. But he warns them that if they interfere, there will only be death and betrayal. Meanwhile, Garoni follows Garruci to a shipyard, and deduces that it's Harold Ko's drug lab with Laura Shapiro inside. In a meeting between Ko and Garucci, it is revealed that Ko kidnapped Shapiro's daughter because Shapiro did not pay for Ko's last shipment, which Garucci said was a "simple misunderstanding".

Wong, Garoni and Jones go to the drug lab. They destroy it and save Laura Shapiro in the process. Garoni, however, fails to escape with them after he is shot by Garrucci, and is held hostage unless Billy returns Laura to Ko. Wong decides to leave Laura Shapiro with Superintendent Whitehead.

Wong meets Ko and Garucci at the shipyard. He sees that Garoni is still alive, but then learns that Superintendent Whitehead was on Harold Ko's payroll the whole time, and is now holding Laura Shapiro hostage (confirming the "betrayal" that the fortune teller warned about). Garucci then engages Wong in a one-on-one hand-to-hand fight, which Wong wins despite Ko's attempts to cheat and help Garucci. Then Wong dispatches Ko's guards and is eventually about to kill Ko, but Garrucci comes after Billy with a cut-off saw. In the ensuing fight, Garrucci is electrocuted when the saw hits an electric panel. Stan Jones and Siu Ling arrive to help untie Garoni and rescue Laura. Ko escapes in a helicopter, and Billy follows after him, but a guard blocks his way. Billy and the guard fight on a cargo lifter, where Wong prevails by eventually knocking the guard off to a long fall to his death. Garoni goes outside with the gang and kills a sniper with a 6-shot 20mm cannon before he can shoot Wong. Wong eventually makes it inside of a crane, and kills Ko when he drops the contents of the crane onto his helicopter.

With Ko dead and Laura Shapiro saved, Billy and Danny are given a NYPD Medal of Honor.

Hong Kong Version (aka Jackie Chan's personal edit)

Although the basic narrative of Jackie Chan's edit is the same as the US version, Chan added a subplot to provide more depth to the movie, which slightly changes how the movie progresses from beginning to end.

The plot of this edit begins to deviate from the US version after Danny Garoni and Billy Wong leave the massage parlour. The next day, Wong goes to a theater to look for a woman named May-Fong Ho. However, the woman he is looking for (Sally Yeh) goes by the name Sally, and Wong quickly deduces who she is among the dancers with whom she's rehearsing. Wong disturbs her during the rehearsal by showing her the coin of Tin Ho, whom Sally knows. But she denies having any friends from New York and tries to avoid Wong. Two men competing for Sally's affection try to fight Wong but are easily beaten before Wong pulls out his gun, ending the fight. He explains to them that he's a policeman. Wong and Sally then go to a restaurant, where she reveals that her father and another man were partners of Harold Ko, until Ko killed her father. She changed her name in order to hide from Ko. She tells him to visit a man named Hing Lee, who was her father's partner, and instructs Wong to show Tin Ho's coin to Lee in order to gain trust. However, unbeknownst to Sally and Wong, one of Ko's men has overheard the conversation.

After this scene, the plot stays the same as the US version until after Ko's press conference. After the press conference, Benny Garucci expresses his concern to Ko's bodyguard, Dai-Wai Ho, about Garoni and Wong's knowledge of their drug operation. Ho tells him that there's a way he can help.

Later that night, Hing Lee meets with his contact Wing (Hoi Sang Lee) at a seafood warehouse to find information about Ko. Wing tells Lee that Laura Shapiro is being held in shipping containers at the shipyard, and reveals that the shipping containers contain Ko's heroin factory. However, they are suddenly attacked by a group of men with ice picks and Benny Garucci. Wing easily beats up the rest of the men, but is overpowered and killed by Garucci in a fight.

Later, Wong meets with Hing Lee's daughter Siu Ling to see what information Lee found. They arrive at the warehouse, but find both Lee's and Wing's dead bodies. Realizing that Sally may be in danger, Wong visits Sally at her house. He soon deduces that Sally's substitute maid is working for Ko, and has planted a bomb under Sally's bed. Wong diffuses the bomb. Minutes later, the massage parlor manager arrives to warn Sally that Ko is coming after her. Sally reveals that the manager is actually her uncle and an outcast in her family. The manager had been demoted and fallen out of favor with Ko (also shown in an earlier scene) after failing to kill Hing Lee, Garoni, and Wong earlier, and that they are aware of Wong's visit with Sally. After the uncle arrives, more men working for Ko (this time with guns) arrive to kill them, but they fail and retreat. Sally's uncle tells Wong that Laura is being held at a shipyard in a container, and that inside the containers is Ko's drug factory. With this new information, Wong calls Garoni and instructs him to keep watch over Ko's shipyard. After the scene of Garoni spying on Ko's shipyard plays, Wong escorts Sally and her uncle to the airport, and instructs them to find his contact in the United States so that they can build a new life and start over.

After this scene, the plot of this edit is the same as the original US version.

The Gigantor series is set in the year 2000. The show follows the exploits of little Jimmy Sparks, a 12-year-old boy who controls Gigantor, a huge flying robot, with a remote control. The robot is made of steel and has a rocket-powered backpack for flight, a pointy nose, eyes that never move and incredible strength, but no intelligence (although he started to tap his head as if trying to think in one episode). Whoever has the remote control controls Gigantor.

Originally developed as a weapon by Jimmy's father, Gigantor was later reprogrammed to act as a guardian of peace. Jimmy Sparks lives with his uncle, Dr. Bob Brilliant, on a remote island. Jimmy usually wears shorts and a jacket, carries a firearm and occasionally drives a car. Together, Jimmy and Gigantor battle crime around the world and clash with the many villains who are always trying to steal or undermine the giant robot.

In the final phase of the Pacific War, the Imperial Japanese Army were developing a gigantic robot "Tetsujin 28-go" as the secret weapon to fight against the Allies. However, Japan surrendered before they could complete its construction. After the war, Dr. Kaneda (the developer of Tetsujin 28-go) passed his robot to his son Shotaro Kaneda.

Characters

• : The ten-year-old son of Dr. Kaneda. He is Tetsujin's assigned controller, with a deep emotional attachment to the robot. Shotaro is a boy detective famous throughout Tokyo, and in the manga, 1963 series, and 2004 series, can be seen frequently driving a car.
• : Dr. Kaneda's assistant, later Shotaro's mentor and guardian. He is caring and very dedicated to his work, but usually looks serious and deadpan. He is married, and has a son named Tetsuo.
• : The Chief of Tokyo Police. He is warm in personality and very enthusiastic, which isn't to say he doesn't take his job seriously. He is very close to Shikishima and also takes care of Shotaro, even acting as a surrogate father in the 2004 series.
• : A former intelligence officer who begins to help Otsuka and Shotaro's work. His appearances in the 1960s and 2004 series are starkly different; he is immediately Shotaro's ally in the 1960s, but in the 2004 series, his brothers Ryuusaku and Tatsu are killed during Tetsujin's revival, causing him to seek revenge for several episodes. In the original manga, he and Ryuusaku are the leaders of a criminal organization.
• : A reclusive mad scientist who created the robot Black Ox. He is calm and very knowledgeable, but unfortunately uses his talents to create dangerous robots. In the original version of the 1960s series, his name is Dr. Black Dog.
• : An American man who volunteered himself to be turned into an android as part of a wartime experiment. As a result, his body is entirely robotic with the exception of his brain, and is often covered in bandages. In the 2004 series, he steals his brother Johnson's identity in order to kill the doctor that made him this way.

Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), a perpetual college student in his 30s with 22 academic degrees, is kicked out of college by his professor, Harris (Mario Iván Martínez), who arranges for Flynn to get his 23rd degree mid-term. They have just completed a 1/20th scale model of the great pyramid, complete with a gold capstone. It will be months before he can sign up for another class. He tells Flynn—who does not know the names of his fellow students— that he lacks real-life experience and needs to see life outside of college. Flynn's mother, Margie (Olympia Dukakis), says the same thing. She is constantly worried about her son and encourages him to get a job, find a wife, and be happy.

Flynn receives a mysterious, magical invitation to interview "for a prestigious position" at the Metropolitan Public Library. Shortly after his odd but successful interview with humorless library administrator, Charlene (Jane Curtin)—and one vital question from a disembodied voice—he is shown the true Library by the owner of the voice, Judson (Bob Newhart). The position of Librarian has existed for thousands of years. His role is to protect historical and often magical items stored in a vast secret space far below the "real" library. The items for which Flynn is responsible include Pandora's Box, Tesla's Death Ray, the Holy Grail, the transmuted corpse of King Midas, the Ark of the Covenant, the Golden Fleece, a live unicorn, the Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs, Excalibur, the original ''Mona Lisa'' (in the film the Louvre version is a copy), the original "Little Boy" prototype atomic bomb, a working jet pack, Ali Baba's Flying Carpet, and the Spear of Destiny.

Flynn finds that the job entails more than he expected when one of three parts of the Spear of Destiny is stolen by a cult known as the Serpent Brotherhood, led by the former librarian Wilde (Kyle MacLachlan), who had faked his own death. (The audience learns of Wilde's involvement immediately.) Judson explains that whoever has the complete Spear of Destiny will control the destiny of the entire world (it is said in the film that "Hitler had only one" piece of the Spear). Flynn is the only one on Earth who can track down the remaining two pieces and prevent the Serpent Brotherhood from possessing all three. He heads off to the Amazon jungle, with only two tools: his mind and a book written in a previously untranslated language called the "Language of the birds.”

On the plane, Flynn is ambushed by members of the Serpent Brotherhood and is rescued by a woman who forces him out of the plane in mid-air. Once they land, he finds that his rescuer, Nicole Noone (Sonya Walger), has been sent by Judson. She works for the Library in the role later defined as Guardian. She fell in love with the last Librarian and blames herself for his death. She resists any friendly feelings for Flynn. As the two travel through the Amazon rainforest, they encounter waterfalls, headhunters, bridge collapses, and Maya death traps, which they manage to survive with little difficulty thanks to Flynn's extensive knowledge and Nicole's physical prowess. They retrieve the second piece of the spear and are immediately captured by the brotherhood and Wilde, who is about to shoot Nicole when Flynn steps in front of her. He makes a deal to find the last piece of the spear in exchange for Nicole's life. They head to Shangri-La, in the Himalayas.

At Shangri-La, they learn that their arrival has been prophesied. Flynn retrieves the last spear piece, the blade, and the temple starts to collapse. The monks battle the Serpent Brotherhood and Flynn and Nicole escape in a helicopter, which he flies somewhat erratically, using his book knowledge. They arrive at a hotel, where Nicole orders champagne and asks Flynn if he has read a lot of books about making love. Flynn wakes up the next morning to find Nicole, the spear blade and his clothes missing. Judson contacts him through a TV in the hotel lobby, and when he describes the conditions necessary to join the spear parts together—a golden-cap-stoned pyramid, augmented by a powerful electromagnetic field during a full moon—Flynn realizes that Professor Harris is in on the scheme. He tells Judson to call the Marines, he is coming home.

Judson meets him outside the university building where the pyramid was reconstructed, and when Flynn asks where the Marines are, Judson flashes a tattoo and replies “Semper Fi!” They watch as the Serpent Brothers, including Harris, assemble to watch Wilde call down the ancient powers and fuse the spear into one. Nicole is their prisoner. After Judson decks a henchman, he says to Flynn, “I was a Librarian, too, you know.” Wilde stabs one of his men, absorbing his life force through the spear, and starts for Nicole. Flynn tackles him and frees Nicole. Nicole and Judson take on the Brotherhood while Flynn follows Wilde, who tries to kill him. When the spear strikes stone the Pyramid shakes. Realizing what is happening, Flynn leads Wilde to damage the support stones, upsetting the precariously balanced structure. The capstone then falls onto Wilde, killing him. Judson and Nicole stand in a room full of unconscious people. Flynn reclaims the spear in the name of the Library, where it is displayed near Excalibur. Flynn draws the sword from its stone. Judson and Charlene show him the latest portrait in the gallery of Librarians: Flynn, holding the Spear. “I hope you saved receipts,” Charlene says.

Three months later, Flynn is at a café talking with his mother about his new job at the public library and his girlfriend, Nicole, who suddenly arrives by motorcycle and kisses Flynn, who introduces her to his Mother. Nicole informs him that the 'Deadly Scorpion League' has got their hands on H. G. Wells' Time Machine (a real time machine, and not the book). As Flynn wonders aloud why so many evil groups have insect names, they take off, pursued by four members of said cult.

Kakugo and Harara are brothers trained by their father, Oboro, to slay monsters that have begun roaming the streets of a post-apocalyptic, 21st century Tokyo following a devastatingly, powerful earthquake. In order to aid them in their quest, Oboro entrusts his two sons with , cyborg exoskeletons forged using the souls of deceased warriors by their grandfather, a former scientist of the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II, Shiro Hagakure. However, Harara becomes possessed by a mysterious evil from deep within his armor, mutating his body into a far more androgynist one as well as filling him with a desire to destroy all of mankind in order to help cleanse the Earth of contamination. Some years later, Kakugo moves to "''Reverse Cross High School''", located in one of the ruined districts of Tokyo near the castle from which Harara commands their demon army. It's now up to Kakugo to defeat his evil sibling and put a stop to their wicked legions.

In South Boston in the 1980s, Colin Sullivan is introduced to organized crime by Irish-American gangster Frank Costello. Twenty years later, Sullivan has been groomed as a spy inside the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and joins the Special Investigations Unit, led by Captain Ellerby. Another recruit, State Trooper Billy Costigan Jr., is approached by Captain Queenan and Staff Sergeant Dignam to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's crew. They believe Costigan's deceased uncle's reputation as a prominent mobster will give him credibility with Costello.

They set up a cover; he serves time in jail on phony charges and eventually joins Costello's crew. Ellerby informs Special Investigations that only Queenan and Dignam will know their undercovers' names and that Costello's crew has stolen computer microprocessors to sell to a Hong Kong Triad. Due to being undercover, Costigan's emotional state declines, but Queenan and Dignam plead with him to keep his cover.

Sullivan begins a romance with police psychiatrist Dr. Madolyn Madden. The MSP prepares to catch Costello selling the microprocessors, but the deal takes place off-camera, allowing everyone to escape. Costello realizes there is an informer in his crew and tasks Sullivan to uncover his identity. Sullivan asks for information to cross-reference his crew members in the MSP database.

Meanwhile, Costigan learns that Costello is a protected FBI informant, and Costello accuses Costigan of being the undercover, which he denies. Costigan shares his discovery with Queenan and warns that Costello is aware of an informer in his crew, and tells Dignam that there's spy in the MSP. Other than Queenan and Dignam, Costigan’s only contact in the MSP is Madolyn Madden, Sullivan’s girlfriend, with whom he later has an affair.

Costigan follows Costello into a theater and witnesses him giving Sullivan an envelope. Queenan instructs Costigan to get a visual ID of Sullivan before making the arrest but Costigan is unable to get a good look at Sullivan's face; when Sullivan realizes that he is being followed he attempts to hide and stab Costigan as he walks by but mistakenly kills a restaurant worker and flees the scene. Sullivan then tries to cross-reference Costigan’s picture, captured by nearby security footage, against police officer databases but cannot recognize him.

Queenan advises Sullivan to follow Costello to find his spy. Costigan calls Queenan and sets up a meeting but Sullivan has Queenan tailed by another officer by lying to the officer and saying that Queenan may be the spy. Sullivan uses the tail's information on their location to call in Costello's gang. When Costello's men arrive, Queenan helps Costigan escape before confronting them and being thrown from the building's roof to his death on the street below.

Angered by Queenan's murder, Dignam attacks Sullivan and resigns. Sullivan also learns that Costello is an FBI informant and decides to help the MSP catch him. Costello is tailed to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts, killing most of Costello's crew including French. Sullivan confronts Costello, who admits to being an FBI informant, and fatally shoots him.

When Costigan goes to Sullivan to reveal his undercover status, he notices the envelope Costello used to collect the gang's personal information in order to discover the undercover on Sullivan's desk and realizes that Sullivan is Costello's spy. Sullivan then erases Costigan's records from police computers. Costigan hands Madolyn, who has moved in with Sullivan, an envelope and instructs her to open it if something happens to him. Later, she reveals that she is pregnant to Sullivan (it's hinted that the baby is actually Costigan's, due to Sullivan having performance issues), then opens a different letter containing tapes Costello made of himself with Sullivan, listens to them, and leaves Sullivan.

Costigan arranges to meet Sullivan on a rooftop, where Queenan died, then attempts to arrest him. Costigan calls Trooper Brown, a friend from the academy, to substantiate his identity, but Brown pulls a gun on Costigan when he arrives, unsure who is telling the truth. Costigan says that he has evidence tying Sullivan to Costello, and Brown lets him go down the elevator. Upon reaching the lobby, Costigan and Brown are killed by Trooper Barrigan, a friend of Sullivan's, who reveals himself to be another spy working for Costello. Sullivan then shoots Barrigan dead, allowing him to out Barrigan as the mole while removing suspicion from himself. When Sullivan arrives home after attending Costigan’s funeral, Dignam, who Madolyn had presumably shown the incriminating tapes, is waiting and shoots Sullivan in the head, killing him and avenging both Queenan and Costigan's deaths.

Sport Sharewood (Mary Badham) and her younger brother Jeb (Jeffrey Byron) live in a large, expensive house, but their parents are cold, ill-tempered, self-centered, and constantly bickering with each other.

While Sport and Jeb are sitting beside their swimming pool, Whitt (Kim Hector), a young boy in a straw hat, pops up from the deep end of the pool and invites them to follow him. The children dive underwater only to come back up in a swimming hole bordering a rustic, simple homestead. An assortment of children are playing in the yard. In contrast to their lavish home of neglect and insults, they are welcomed and loved from the moment they arrive at this humble children's paradise. There is only one adult there, "Aunt T." (Georgia Simmons), a kind and patient elderly woman who loves children. She explains that she has many children there who came from parents who did not deserve them.

Sport and Jeb go home, for fear that their parents will be worried. "Aunt T" advises them that they likely will not be able return as few children can find their way back. But Jeb later returns to Aunt T's, and Sport is sent by her mother to go and find him because she has something to tell them about some decisions that are made that will make all their lives better. Sport finds Jeb at Aunt T's but he refuses to go back. Sport convinces him by telling him that their mother has promised everything will be better; he reluctantly agrees to return with her. Back home their parents inform them they are planning to divorce and they must decide which parent they will live with. The children refuse and dive back into the pool, and are able to escape. When they do not reemerge, their father jumps in to rescue them, but discovers they have disappeared. Sport and Jeb are now happily living with Aunt T. Sport hears the distant voice of her mother, but ignores it and focuses on her new life.

Astronaut Colonel Adam Cook (Richard Basehart) crash lands on a strange planet with gravity and atmospheric conditions similar to those of his home world. Most of his equipment is destroyed in the crash and cannot be repaired due to a broken right arm and lack of resources. He contacts his home base and speaks with a subordinate officer (Barton Heyman) and then with General Larrabee (Harold Gould), but they have little encouragement for him — there is no replacement spacecraft to rescue him, and his home planet may be at war in a matter of hours. Larrabee adds that it may be possible to transmit instructions on how to repair the ship.

In a subsequent communication, Larrabee reports that the enemy attacked and "our entire seacoast went" in 12 minutes after which there was retaliation. Those at base will have to move soon, meaning Cook will have no one to contact.

Cook leaves his ship at night and finds drawn patterns in the dirt. While looking for the source, he is hit by a rock from an unseen source, and knocked unconscious, not hearing Larrabee's last transmission that radiation from the attacks will kill any remaining survivors and ending with the words, "Whoever you meet there, however you meet them, I hope it can come without fear. I hope it can come without anger. I hope your new world will be different. I hope you'll find no word such as hate. I hope there'll be...".

Upon regaining consciousness, Cook returns to his ship and is startled by a noise coming from a closet. Cook leaves the ship as a gesture showing that he means the alien no harm. A human-like female (Antoinette Bower) emerges from his ship. Not knowing each other's languages, they communicate through sketches in the sand and pantomime. He learns that she is also stranded; her planet left its orbit and she is its sole survivor. Her name is Norda. As they ready to look for food, Cook picks up a stick, which Norda interprets as a threat. She scratches his face and runs.

Soon after, Norda returns and expresses remorse for her actions, which Cook happily forgives. They find a more fertile area, which Cook likens to a "garden." He fully introduces himself as "Adam Cook" and Norda gives her full name as "Eve Norda". Adam and Eve begin a new life on this planet she calls "Earth". At this point she offers him a "''seppla''" (an anagram of the word "apples", which are artistically depicted as the biblical forbidden fruit). As they venture further, Rod Serling narrates that he presumes the place they are heading to is Eden.

When the Environmental Protection Agency fines Mr. Burns $3 million for dumping nuclear waste in a Springfield park, a town meeting is held to decide how to spend the money. After a few suggestions—including one from a poorly-disguised Burns to invest it back into his power plant—Marge nearly convinces them to repair the rundown Main Street but a fast-talking salesman named Lyle Lanley leads a song-and-dance routine that convinces the townspeople to instead build a monorail. After running a questionable training program, Lanley randomly selects Homer as the monorail's conductor. Doubtful about Lanley, Marge visits his office and discovers he intends to run off with money skimmed from the project, leaving the townspeople with a defective train.

Marge drives to the town of North Haverbrook, a previous purchaser of one of Lanley's monorails. She discovers the town and its monorail in ruins. She meets Sebastian Cobb, the engineer who designed it and he confirms that all of Lanley's monorail projects are scams. Cobb offers to help Marge prevent Springfield from suffering the same fate. At the Springfield monorail's inaugural run, Lanley arranges for Leonard Nimoy to be present at a well-attended opening ceremony, which is a diversion that enables him to escape on a plane to Tahiti. When the flight makes an unexpected stopover in North Haverbrook, the townsfolk storm the aircraft to attack Lanley for ruining the town.

Back in Springfield, the monorail leaves the station just before Marge and Cobb arrive. Lanley's sabotage of the controls causes the solar-powered train to over-speed round the track, endangering Homer, Bart and everyone on board. The train stops briefly during a solar eclipse, then starts again. As Chief Wiggum and Mayor Quimby argue over who takes charge, Marge and Cobb contact Homer by radio and Cobb tells him he must find an anchor to stop the train. Improvising quickly, Homer pries loose the metal "M" from the engine's side logo, ties a rope to it and throws it from the train. After damaging a large portion of the town—especially the already-derelict roads—the "M" catches on the giant donut of the Lard Lad Donut store's sign and the rope holds, stopping the monorail. As the passengers are rescued, Marge concludes that the monorail was the only foolish project the town ever embarked on, except for a skyscraper made from Popsicle sticks, a 50-foot-tall magnifying glass, and an up-escalator that leads nowhere.

The novel opens with a framing device wherein we are shown what is happening in the London home of the dying novelist at the beginning of World War I. One of the servant staff in James' house has taken a crude but sincere interest in discovering what her employer's books are all about and takes to reading one of his more famous stories, "The Beast in the Jungle". This story, whose hero is obsessed by a paranoid belief that his life will be marked by an unknown catastrophe, provides the opening for the novel proper to begin.

Now we proceed back in time to the middle years of James' life and are introduced to a large and interesting group of James' literary acquaintances from his period of expatriation in England. Among those we meet are George du Maurier, George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson. The long and productive friendship between James and du Maurier is described in great detail, including the story of du Maurier's deteriorating eyesight which threatens his livelihood as a cartoonist for the magazine ''Punch''. He is finally driven to write fiction himself and he astonishes James and the entire literary world by producing the bestselling novel ''Trilby''. Much of Lodge's book is built upon James' own obsession with attracting a larger readership than his opaque books have yet garnered and the success of ''Trilby'' both baffles and annoys him.

Meanwhile, James is writing prolifically himself with little comparable financial or critical success. We are given a long and funny account of James' humiliating quest to write a popular play for the London stage. There is an ironic and entertaining distance set up here between James' feelings of failure and inadequacy and what we now know about his final reputation. While du Maurier and ''Trilby'' have all but faded from the public view, James' body of work has continued to attract readers worldwide and his position as one of the most important figures in literature is now secure. In this sense, the novel can be seen as both an homage and as an artistic attempt to rescue the historical James from his own feeling of obscurity.

The book also includes a portrait of the friendship that James formed during this time with the American author Constance Fenimore Woolson. Lodge suggests that their relationship had a romantic (but unconsummated) dimension. As in real life, Woolson commits suicide while traveling in Italy and this leads James to wonder what connection, if any, there might have been between her death and her feelings for him. Lodge's depiction of their relationship allows him subtly to explore James' alleged lifelong virginity and to conjecture somewhat about his notorious prudishness.

The film is shown as a series of memory flashbacks during a formal ceremony where the protagonist is instituted as a cardinal.

A newly ordained Irish Catholic priest, Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon), returns home to Boston in 1917. He discovers that his parents are upset about daughter Mona (Carol Lynley) having become engaged to marry a Jewish man, Benny Rampell (John Saxon). Stephen and his Irish Catholic family will only permit Mona to marry Benny if he becomes a Catholic or agrees to raise any children as Catholic. Benny does not agree and leaves to serve in World War I. Mona seeks Stephen's counsel as a priest. After he tells her to give Benny up, she runs away and becomes promiscuous.

Concerned about the young priest's ambition, the archbishop (John Huston) assigns Stephen to an out-of-the-way parish where it is hoped that he will learn humility. There he meets the humble pastor, Father Ned Halley (Burgess Meredith), and Fermoyle observes the unpretentious way in which he lives his life and treats his parishioners. Father Halley is very sick with multiple sclerosis. Fermoyle learns humility from him and his housekeeper, Lalage (Jill Haworth).

Meanwhile, Mona becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Stephen, his brother and Benny find Mona in agony because her pelvis is too small for a large baby. She is taken to the hospital, where the doctor tells Stephen that it is too late to perform a caesarean operation and in order to save Mona, the head of the baby must be crushed. Stephen will not allow the doctor to do so, because according to Catholic doctrine, the baby may not be killed. Mona dies giving birth to the child, Regina.

Racked with guilt over the death of his sister, Stephen suffers a crisis of faith, so he is transferred to Europe and made a monsignor, but he is unsure of how committed he is to a life in the clergy, and he travels to Vienna, taking a two-year sabbatical by working as a lecturer. There he meets and enters into a relationship with a young woman, Annemarie (Romy Schneider). Stephen does not violate his vows.

Stephen's vocation calls him back to Rome and the church. The Vatican returns him to the United States on a mission in the American South to assist a black priest named Father Gillis (Ossie Davis) who is opposed by the Ku Klux Klan. After successfully handling the assignment, Stephen is consecrated as a bishop, with Father Gillis present for the consecration.

Stephen is sent back to Austria to persuade a cardinal not to cooperate with the Nazis, with a threat of a world war looming over all. He and the cardinal ultimately must flee for their lives. He manages to see Annemarie one last time after she has been imprisoned by the Nazis. After the success of the missions on which the Vatican had sent him, he is elevated to the College of Cardinals.

On the eve of World War II, a ceremony is held in which Stephen formally becomes a cardinal. He warns about the dangers of totalitarianism and pledges to dedicate the rest of his life to his work.

The US east coast is suddenly struck by a type of a massive destructive force of nature usually only happening after a major earthquake in the Pacific and Indian Ocean rims: tidal waves of the destructive tsunami type. Scientist and fiction author John McAdams is forced to attend a type of Department of Homeland Security conference which concludes the phenomenon must be man-made, quite possibly abusing the findings of John's secret former Sea Lion project, but leaves questions of who wants to and has the means unanswered. Indeed, John and his colleague Sophie, a Québécois, soon find John set up for a murder of a potential whistleblower and are pursued by The FBI, Maine State Police and a pair of foreign ruthless assassins. Major destruction means major contracts for construction and coastal defenses, so building tycoons like Victor Bannister certainly have a considerable interest. The movie is two part mini-series originally aired in The UK.

Chow Sing-Sing (Stephen Chow) is about to be disqualified from the Royal Hong Kong Police's elite Special Duties Unit (SDU) because of his complete disregard for his teammates during a drill. However, a senior officer, who has taken to Sing's youthful demeanour, instead deploys him as an undercover student into Edinburgh College to recover a stolen revolver. Sing, who turned to the Police Academy because of his dislike for schooling, struggles to fit in academically. The undercover operation is made complicated when Star is partnered with Tat—an ageing, incompetent police detective (Ng Man-Tat).

However, Star still manages to fall in love with Ms Ho (Cheung Man), the school's guidance counsellor, as well as disrupting a gang involved in arms-dealing.

Several rabbits are eating carrots and ruining crops. Another rabbit warns them to evacuate by saying "Jiggers, fellers!" Soon, Porky and his dog meet this rabbit and try to outwit him in the forest. Porky and the rabbit get into a fight and the hare thinks he has won. However Porky finds the rabbit, who shows Porky a photo of himself and of how many children he has with his wife. When Porky is about to shoot him, the gun fails.

After Porky attempts to shoot him, the rabbit asks Porky: "Do you have a hunting license?" As Porky reaches for his pocket to obtain the document, the hare suddenly snatches it out of Porky's grasp, rips it in two, says, "Well you haven't got one now!" and escapes by twisting his ears as though they were a helicopter propeller, flying away. But Porky throws a rock at the hare which sends him crashing into a haystack. He emerges from the stack appearing injured, but he suddenly grabs Porky and says one of Groucho Marx's lines from Duck Soup: "Of course, you know that this means war!" He then starts marching like one of the spirits of '76. Ultimately, the rabbit wins when Porky throws dynamite into the cave in which the rabbit is hiding and he throws the dynamite back. Later, Porky is in the hospital and the rabbit brings him flowers. Porky tells the rabbit that he will be out in a few days. "That's what YOU think!", the rabbit says, and then pulls on the anvil in Porky's bed, and runs out the window into the distance laughing.

Setting

The game takes place in the dream world of Lunatea. It is composed of four kingdoms. The Kingdom of Tranquility, La-Lakoosha, is a peaceful kingdom that lies at the north of Lunatea and where the High Priestess resides. The Kingdom of Joy, Joilant, is a kingdom to the south of Lunatea and resembles an amusement park. The Kingdom of Discord, Volk, which lies to the west, resembles several metalworking factories and its people wage a neverending war. The Kingdom of Indecision, Mira-Mira, is secluded and snowbound all year long. Each kingdom contains a bell housing its element.

Story

The story begins with Klonoa, in what appears to be a dream, being asked for help by an unknown silhouette. Klonoa suddenly starts falling into water. A flying ship, carrying sky pirates Leorina and Tat, appears above him. Before they can take his ring, the priestess-in-training Lolo and her sidekick Popka appears and they fly off, not wanting to risk losing the ring. Klonoa wakes up and is greeted by Lolo and Popka, they mention that he is in Lunatea and that they should see The High Priestess. Along the way to meet the priestess, Klonoa uses the ring, with Lolo in it, to ring a giant bell. After talking with the High Priestess, Lolo is granted the title of a priestess. Klonoa learns he must get the elements from the giant bells spread throughout Lunatea, but Leorina and Tat manage to get in his way, and take them.

After catching up with her, Leorina explains that with the power she has, she'll make everyone realize sorrow, but instead, she gets cursed by it, turning into a giant silver bird-like creature. After Klonoa saves her, she decides to help him. With the power of the elements, Klonoa opens the gate to the Kingdom of Sorrow. It is revealed that the King of Sorrow is the one who summoned Klonoa to Lunatea, in the end however, the king decides to use Klonoa as a vessel for the pain he suffered in isolation but gets defeated in battle.

Klonoa promises the King of Sorrow that the world would remember sorrow. Klonoa rings the bell, and the king turns to light and fades away. Sometime later, Leorina and Tat decide to restore the Kingdom of Sorrow, and Klonoa decides to return to his home world, saying his goodbyes to Lolo and Popka. In the credits, it is revealed that the inhabitants of the four Kingdoms in Lunatea are now moving about freely to the other Kingdoms, with most of them assisting Leorina and Tat in rebuilding the Kingdom of Sorrow while others are exploring the other four Kingdoms with curiosity and wonder.

Characters

The protagonist of the game is Klonoa, known by the people of Lunatea as the "Dream Traveler," one who is summoned to save unbalanced dream worlds. Throughout most of the game, he is accompanied by Lolo, a priestess in training. She has continuously failed the test to become a full-fledged priestess, but is asked by the High Priestess of the Goddess Claire to aid Klonoa in his journey to save Lunatea. She is hinted to have feelings for Klonoa. In the game, she provides the energy of Klonoa's ring. Klonoa is also joined by the dog-like creature Popka, who acts as the rude but charismatic sidekick of Lolo.

Early in the game, the trio seek the aid of the enigmatic prophet, Baguji, who apparently predicted Klonoa's arrival and directs the team throughout the early parts of their journey.

The game's primary antagonist is the pirate Leorina, a former priestess who eventually lost her patience and set off to gain "The power of the gods." She is accompanied by Tat, a floating cat-like creature who has the power to split herself into two beings. She shows a liking to Klonoa at the beginning of the game, giving off a few tips to Klonoa when he is pursuing her.

A young girl, Jarmila, has been seduced by a man who is killed by his own son, Vilém; the latter is a robber known as the "terrible forest lord". On the evening of 1 May, sitting on a hill by a lake, she awaits his coming, but is instead told by one of Vilém's associates that her lover sits across the lake in a castle, to be executed for the murder. While he waits, he ponders on the beauty of nature and his young life. The next day, he is led to a hill where he is decapitated; his mangled limbs are displayed in a wheel fastened to a pillar, and his head is placed on top of the pillar. Seven years later, on 31 December, a traveler named Hynek comes across Vilém's pallid skull and the next day is told the story by an innkeeper. Years later, on the evening of 1 May, he returns and compares his own life to the month of May.

Example

Byl pozdní večer – první máj –

Večerní máj – byl lásky čas.

Hrdliččin zval ku lásce hlas,

Kde borový zaváněl háj.

O lásce šeptal tichý mech;

Květoucí strom lhal lásky žel,

Svou lásku slavík růži pěl,

Růžinu jevil vonný vzdech.

Jezero hladké v křovích stinných

Zvučelo temně tajný bol,

Břeh je objímal kol a kol;

A slunce jasná světů jiných

Bloudila blankytnými pásky,

Planoucí tam co slzy lásky.

Translation (artistic)

Late evening, on the first of May—

The twilit May—the time of love.

Meltingly called the turtle-dove,

Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay.

Whispered of love the mosses frail,

The flowering tree as sweetly lied,

The rose's fragrant sigh replied

To love-songs of the nightingale.

In shadowy woods the burnished lake

Darkly complained a secret pain,

By circling shores embraced again;

And heaven's clear sun leaned down to take

A road astray in azure deeps,

Like burning tears the lover weeps.

Shortly after escaping from the dark planet, Riddick, Jack, and the Imam are picked up by ''Kublai Khan'', a private mercenary vessel. Although Riddick attempts to conceal his identity from the mercenaries by impersonating his former captor William J. Johns over the ship's radio, they quickly voice-print and identify him. The vessel's captain, Junner, assembles a crew of mercs to retrieve Riddick, who manages to get the drop on them by activating his ship's fire suppression system and using the foam as cover. After easily killing most of the mercs, Riddick surrenders when Jack is captured and held at gunpoint by Junner.

The trio of survivors discover that their captors have unusual plans for them. They are introduced to Antonia Chillingsworth (Tress MacNeille), who collects notorious criminals and keeps them in a state of suspended animation where they are still alive but are unable to speak or move. She explains that, in her view, this is both a fitting punishment and a way for said killers to be honored for what they are. She intends to do the same to Riddick, but first, she forces him to fight for Jack and Iman's lives by putting them in an arena with two "Shrills", bio-luminescent creatures that resemble parasitic jellyfish.

Riddick kills both creatures and uses his knife to extract an explosive planted in his neck by Junner to keep him in line; realizing his plan, Chillingsworth detonates the explosive, creating an exit for the trio to escape through. She angrily orders Junner to wake up more mercenaries, including a cunning merc by the name of Toombs, and also releases a dangerous carnivorous alien to hunt them. Riddick has Iman take Jack up to the flight deck and uses his own blood to trick the alien into slaughtering the pursuing mercs (except for Toombs, who manages to hide in a pipe). He then surprises and kills the alien.

Junner, anticipating Riddick's plan, knocks out Iman and tries to strangle Jack before Riddick confronts him. The two men are evenly matched until Riddick maneuvers Junner into severing a power cable with his sword, putting out the lights and giving Riddick an opening to stab Junner in the eye. A deranged Chillingsworth then appears and is about to kill Riddick when Jack picks up Junner's rifle and shoots her in the head. As the trio departs on a dropship, Imam expresses concern that Jack will become exactly like Riddick if they continue to travel together. Agreeing, Riddick decides to leave them at New Mecca while he goes into hiding. Meanwhile, Toombs, having assumed command of ''Kublai Khan'', sets off to capture Riddick for his bounty.

Jeremy Collier is a returning Vietnam War hero whose experiences leave him unable to adjust to the quiet realities of small-town life. Bob Collier, Jeremy's father, expects his son to go back to his life as it was, without understanding the problems of PTSD. Jeremy's mother, Maurine, treats him "like he's a 10-year-old," and seems to think he should forget about his war experiences. His sister Karen is more understanding of his readjustment problems, but their father doesn't want her to help her brother.

When the family's Thanksgiving celebration occurs Jeremy refuses to put on his "nice" clothes and instead decides to wear his combat uniform and medal. At the conclusion of the Thanksgiving celebration, Jeremy pulls his handgun on his father and his family, explaining the hate he feels for his father because he would not lend Jeremy money to leave the country to escape the draft.

On the outskirts of a wind-swept Arizona cattle town, an aggressive and strong-willed saloonkeeper named Vienna maintains a volatile relationship with the local cattlemen and townsfolk. Not only does she support the railroad being laid nearby (the cattlemen oppose it), but she permits "The Dancin' Kid" (her former amour) and his confederates to frequent her saloon.

The locals, led by John McIvers and egged on by Emma Small (a onetime rival of Vienna for the Dancin' Kid's affections) are determined to force Vienna out of town, and the hold-up of the stage (erroneously blamed on "The Dancin' Kid") offers a perfect pretext.

Vienna faces them down, helped by the mysterious and just arrived Johnny Guitar. McIvers gives Vienna, Johnny Guitar, and Dancin' Kid and his sidekicks 24 hours to leave. Johnny turns out to be Vienna's ex-lover and a reformed gunslinger whose real name is Johnny Logan. A smouldering love/hate relationship develops.

Dancin' Kid and his gang rob the town bank to fund their escape to California, but the pass is blocked by a railroad crew dynamiting a way in, and they flee back to their secret hideout (a played out silver mine) behind a waterfall. Emma Small convinces the townsfolk that Vienna is as guilty as the rest, and the posse rides to her saloon.

Vienna appears to be getting the best of another verbal confrontation when one of the wounded bank robbers, Turkey, is discovered under a table. Emma persuades the men to hang Vienna and Turkey, and burns the saloon down. At the last second Vienna is saved by Johnny Guitar. Vienna and Johnny escape the posse and find refuge in Dancin' Kid's secret hideaway.

The posse tracks them down, and the last two of Kid's men are killed by infighting. A halt is called to the bloodbath by the posse's leader, McIvers. Emma challenges Vienna to a showdown and shoots Vienna in the shoulder; Dancin' Kid calls to Emma but is killed by a bullet to the head fired by the angered and insanely jealous Emma. Vienna then shoots Emma in the head. The posse allows Johnny and Vienna to leave the hideout in peace, watching them go.

During a visit to Europe, Simon Templar (alias "The Saint") befriends a rich American whose son was recently murdered in New York City; the culprit went free due to police and courtroom corruption. Templar is given an offer he can't refuse: $1 million if he goes to New York and deals out his unique brand of justice to evildoers in that city.

The book begins with the New York Police Department receiving a letter of warning from Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, indicating that Templar, after being inactive for six months (presumably since the events of ''The Saint Goes On''), has relocated to the United States. The letter is accompanied by a dossier on Templar's career thus far (Charteris proceeds to give new readers a brief summary of past adventures dating back to the first Saint novel, 1928's ''Meet - The Tiger!'').

When an accused cop-killer is found shot to death, the NYPD knows the Saint has arrived in New York. After Templar rescues a child who has been kidnapped by a mob boss (assassinating the gangster in the process), the whole city learns that the Saint is on the job. Templar's ultimate goal is to discover the identity of the city's main kingpin who is known only as "The Big Fellow".

Templar is abducted by one of the remaining crime lords and two corrupt, high-ranking New York City officials offer him $200,000 to reveal who is backing him. Templar claims to be working on his own, and the crime lord orders Templar to be taken for the proverbial "ride". Templar is taken to a remote location in New Jersey but manages to escape his fate thanks to the intervention of Fay Edwards, a beautiful young woman who happens to be a cold-blooded killer, and who claims to be working for The Big Fellow. Simon Templar and Fay Edwards fall in love with each other, in a completely Platonic way (they exchange only two kisses and exchange only a few words) which seems nevertheless very deep and poignantly emotional. (On his return to London, in the last page of the book, Templar would refuse to tell Patricia Holm about his American experiences.)

The Saint eventually learns that he is being manipulated into killing off certain crime bosses in order that The Big Fellow will not have to split a $17 million cache of blood money that was going to be shared among the gangsters. In effect, rather than being a daring and idealistic vigilante, as he thought of himself, Templar finds that he had been made into a gangland hit man – and very much dislikes to see himself in such a role.

And when the Big Fellow's identity is finally revealed, he ends up being the last person Templar would suspect.

While dancing at a New Year's party, the Saint spots an agent of Valerie Travers preparing to shoot someone, so Templar guns him down first at the stroke of midnight. Templar is placed by witnesses at the scene, so the San Francisco police request the assistance of Inspector Henry Fernack (Jonathan Hale) of the NYPD. Before Fernack can leave, the Saint arrives in New York and accompanies him to the West Coast.

Travers' father had been a police inspector whose efficiency caused trouble for a mysterious criminal mastermind named Waldeman. When a large sum of money was found in his safe deposit box, however, he was fired on suspicion of working for Waldeman and committed suicide. Travers is determined to clear his name by any means necessary. The Saint takes up her cause, despite her hostility for his interference in her plans and her suspicions about his motives. Templar gets the cooperation of the police commissioner, over the objections of Chief Inspector Webster and criminologist Cullis, who wonder if the Saint is Waldeman himself.

Templar and Travers cross paths again when the trail leads to Martin Eastman, a noted philanthropist and seemingly-irreproachable citizen, whom they both suspect is linked to Waldeman in some way, and who turns out to be the false front for Waldeman's crime ring. Templar forces Travers and her gang to drive away, and aids her burglar, Zipper Dyson, in robbing Eastman's safe of a large sum of money. The serial numbers confirm that it was stolen in a robbery perpetrated by Waldeman. Eastman contacts Cullis instead of reporting the theft, so Templar and Fernack know that Cullis is working for Waldeman. Templar leaves without Fernack to warn Travers before Cullis can murder her (in the belief that she stole the money to expose him), then flees with her after being forced to kill one of Travers' henchmen in self-defense. At that point, Fernack is convinced Templar is Waldeman.

The next morning, Templar replaces the stolen money in Eastman's safe, guaranteeing he will be exposed as Waldeman's front man, though he is killed fleeing his house. That night, Templar and Travers return to his apartment, where Fernack is waiting for them, as Templar expects, and they ultimately lure him to Cullis' apartment, which the police have wired in accord with Templar's trap. Travers tricks Cullis into admitting that he framed her father under the pretense that she will give him the money, while Templar is confronted by Waldeman in the kitchen. Fernack arrive in time to shoot the mastermind dead, and Cullis is arrested by the police, with Travers and Templar parting with her gratitude for Templar's having helped clear her father's name.

The film is set "deep in the heart of Transylvania" and the story appears to take place sometime during the mid-19th century. Professor Abronsius, formerly of the University of Königsberg, and his apprentice Alfred are on the hunt for vampires. Abronsius is old and withering and barely able to survive the cold ride through the wintry forests, while Alfred is bumbling and introverted. The two hunters come to a small village seemingly at the end of a long search for signs of vampires. The two stay at a local inn full of angst-ridden townspeople who perform strange rituals to fend off an unseen evil.

While staying at the inn, Alfred develops a fondness for Sarah, the overprotected daughter of the tavern keeper Yoine Shagal. Alfred witnesses Sarah being kidnapped by the local vampire lord Count von Krolock. Crazed with grief and armed only with a bunch of garlic, Shagal attempts to rescue her but does not get very far before he is captured, drained of his blood and vampirised. After Shagal rises and attacks Magda, the tavern's beautiful maidservant and the object of his lust when he was still human, Abronsius and Alfred follow his trail in the snow, which leads them to Krolock's ominous castle in the snow-blanketed hills nearby. They break into the castle but are trapped by the Count's hunchbacked servant, Koukol. They are taken to see the Count, who affects an air of aristocratic dignity while questioning Abronsius about why he has come to the castle. They also encounter the Count's son, the foppish (and homosexual) Herbert. Meanwhile, Shagal, no longer caring about his daughter's fate, sets up his plan to turn Magda into his vampire bride.

Despite misgivings, Abronsius and Alfred accept the Count's invitation to stay in his ramshackle Gothic castle, where Alfred spends the night fitfully. The next morning, Abronsius plans to find the castle crypt and destroy the Count by staking him in the heart, seemingly forgetting about the fate of Sarah. The crypt is guarded by the hunchback, so after some wandering they attempt to climb in through a roof window. However, Abronsius gets stuck in the aperture, and it falls to Alfred to complete the task of killing the Count in his slumber. At the last moment his nerve fails him and he cannot accomplish the deed. Alfred then has to go back outside to free Abronsius, but on the way he comes upon Sarah having a bath in her room. She seems oblivious to her danger when he pleads for her to come away with him, and informs him that a ball is to take place this very night. After briefly taking his eyes off her, Alfred turns to find Sarah has vanished into thin air.

After freeing Abronsius, who is half-frozen, they re-enter the castle. Alfred again seeks Sarah but meets Herbert instead, who first attempts to seduce him, and then, after Alfred realizes that Herbert's reflection does not show up in the mirror, reveals his vampire nature and attempts to bite him. Abronsius and Alfred flee from Herbert through a dark stairway to safety, only to be trapped behind a locked door in a turret. As night is falling, they become horrified witnesses as the graves below open up to reveal a huge number of vampires of various past centuries at the castle, who hibernate and meet once a year only to feast upon any captives the Count has provided for them. The Count appears, mocking them and tells them their fate is sealed. He leaves them to attend the ball, where Sarah will be presented as the next vampire victim.

The hunters escape by firing a cannon at the door—substituting steam pressure for gunpowder—and come to the ball in disguise, where, although exposed by their reflections in a huge mirror, they are able to grab Sarah and escape. Fleeing in a horse-drawn sleigh, Abronsius and Alfred are unaware that it is too late for Sarah; she awakens in mid-flight as a vampire and bites Alfred, thus allowing vampires to be released into the world.

In a noisy print shop, a disgraced police detective named Hofmeister (Karl Meixner) escapes from pursuing criminals' attacks. Hofmeister telephones his former superior Inspector Karl Lohmann (Otto Wernicke) and explains frantically that he has discovered a huge criminal conspiracy. Before he can disclose the identity of the responsible criminal, the lights go out, shots are fired, and Hofmeister becomes mad. Hofmeister vanishes only to be found later singing every time he feels watched, and he is institutionalized at the asylum run by Professor Baum (Oscar Beregi Sr.).

Professor Baum introduces the case of Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), the criminal mastermind and hypnotist who ten years earlier went mad. Mabuse spends his days frantically writing detailed plans for crimes while a criminal gang is committing them according to "the plans of the Doctor", with whom they confer only from behind a curtain. When Baum's colleague Dr. Kramm (Theodor Loos) by chance discovers that recent crimes implement Mabuse's writings, Kramm is shot by the gang's execution squad, Hardy (Rudolf Schündler) and Bredow (Oskar Höcker). A clue scratched in a glass window pane at Hofmeister's crime scene causes Lohmann to suspect Mabuse. On arrival at the asylum, Baum reveals that Mabuse has died. When Lohmann disparagingly talks about "Mabuse the criminal", Baum emphatically speaks about "Mabuse the genius", whose brilliance would have destroyed a corrupt world.

Baum continues to study Mabuse's writings and communes with the ghost of Dr. Mabuse. The spirit of Mabuse speaks about an "unlimited reign of crime" and merges with the Professor's silhouette. During the same night, a hidden figure confers with sections of his organisation, preparing various crimes such as an attack on a chemical plant, robbing a bank, counterfeiting, poisoning water and destroying harvests. One of the gang members, Thomas Kent (Gustav Diessl), is conflicted between his criminal work, which he needs to do for money, and his affection for a young woman named Lilli (Wera Liessem). Lilli, devoted to Kent, begs him to confide in her. Kent finally confesses his past and his current situation to her. The two decide to inform the police but are abducted and locked in the strange meeting room with the curtain. The hidden figure announces their death when they discover that the curtained alcove contains only a loudspeaker and that there is a time bomb. After several escape attempts have failed, they flood the place to lessen the impact of the explosion and break free when the time bomb goes off.

Meanwhile, the police are besieging a flat where several gangsters, including Hardy and Bredow, are staying. After a shootout, Hardy commits suicide while the other gangsters surrender. As Bredow testifies that they assassinated Dr. Kramm in the vicinity of the asylum, Lohmann arranges a confrontation between the gangsters and the Professor, which proves inconclusive. On Kent and Lilli's arrival, Baum's shocked reaction to Kent makes Lohmann suspicious. Lohmann and Kent visit the asylum, where they discover that Baum is the mastermind and has planned an attack on a chemical plant that night. Lohmann and Kent go to the exploding plant, where they discover Baum watching from afar. Baum flees to the asylum with Lohmann and Kent pursuing. Mabuse's spirit leads Baum to Hofmeister in his cell where he introduces himself as Dr. Mabuse, ending Hofmeister's shock. Baum tries to kill Hofmeister but is stopped by guards, just as Lohmann and Kent arrive. The final scene shows the insane Baum in the cell, tearing Mabuse's writings to shreds.

Danny Ciello is a narcotics detective who works in the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) of the New York Police Department. He and his partners are called "Princes of the City" because they are largely unsupervised and are given wide latitude to make cases against defendants. They are involved in numerous illegal practices, such as skimming money from criminals, and supplying informants with drugs.

Danny has a drug-addict brother and a cousin in organized crime. After an incident in which Danny beats up a junkie to supply another junkie with heroin, his conscience begins to bother him. He is approached by internal affairs and federal prosecutors to participate in an investigation into police corruption. In exchange for potentially avoiding prosecution and gaining federal protection for himself and his family, Ciello wears a wire and goes undercover to expose the inner workings of illegal police activity and corruption. He agrees to cooperate as long as he does not have to turn in his partners, but his past misdeeds and criminal associates come back to haunt him.

One of his partners commits suicide during interrogation, and his cousin in the Mafia, who saves Danny's life on one occasion and warns him of a contract on his life on another, winds up dead. While confessing to three crimes he committed in the 11 years he worked for the SIU, Danny perjures himself by denying the many other offenses he and his partners have committed. Despite repeatedly professing loyalty, Danny finally gives up all of his partners, one of whom shoots himself as a result of this betrayal. Most of the others turn against him. In the end, the chief government prosecutor decides not to prosecute Danny, and he returns to work as an instructor at the Police Academy.

Taking place three years after the first game, the criminal organization Zeed from the original game has since reformed and have renamed themselves "Neo Zeed". They decide to have their revenge on the Oboro Ninja clan and Joe Musashi by killing his master and kidnapping Joe's bride, Naoko. Joe, having reached the clan too late, manages to learn about Neo Zeed's plot by his dying master. Joe decides to travel the world to gain his revenge on Neo Zeed as well as try to save Naoko before it is too late.

Neo Zeed is threatening the world once more. The evil crime syndicate - thought to have been vanquished two years earlier - has returned, headed by a man known only as the Shadow Master. Joe Musashi has felt their presence, and descends from the lonely mountaintops of Japan to face his nemesis once more.

In 63 BC, Pompey conquered Jerusalem and the city was sacked. He entered the Temple to seize the treasure of Solomon and massacred the priests there. He discovered that the treasure is only a collection of scrolls of the Torah. These Pompey held over a fire until an old priest reached for them imploringly. Pompey relented and handed them to the old man and left to carry out massacres of enemy villages and towns.

Many years later, a series of rebellions break out against the authority of Rome, so the Romans crucify many of the leaders and place Herod the Great on Judea's throne.

A carpenter named Joseph and his wife Mary, who is about to give birth, arrive in Bethlehem for the census. Not having found accommodation for the night, they take refuge in a stable, where the child, Jesus, is born. The shepherds, who have followed the Magi from the East, gather to worship him. However, Herod, informed of the birth of a child-king, orders the centurion Lucius to take his men to Bethlehem and kill all the newborn male children.

Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt with the child. The Massacre of the Innocents occurs, Herod dies, killed in his death throes by his son Herod Antipas, who then takes power. In Nazareth, Jesus, who is now twelve years old, is working with Joseph when soldiers arrive under the command of Lucius, who knows now that Jesus escaped the massacre of the infants. But Lucius does nothing and only asks that Mary and Joseph register their son's birth before the year's end.

Years pass and Jewish rebels led by Barabbas and Judas Iscariot prepare to attack a caravan carrying the next governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia. The ambush fails, partly due to the diligence of Lucius, and Barabbas and Judas flee for their lives.

Pilate and Herod Antipas meet on the banks of the River Jordan, where John the Baptist preaches to the crowds. Jesus arrives here, now 30 years of age. He is baptized by John, who recognizes that he is the Messiah. Jesus goes into the desert, where he is tempted by Satan. After forty days, Jesus travels to Galilee, where he recruits his Apostles.

In Jerusalem, Herod Antipas arrests John the Baptist, who is visited by Jesus in prison. Judas leaves the rebel Barabbas and joins the Apostles. Jesus begins to preach and gather crowds, among which are Claudia, Pilate's wife, and Lucius. Herod reluctantly beheads John on a whim of his stepdaughter, Salome, who despises him.

Herod, Pilate and the High Priest Caiaphas are terrorized by the works and miracles of Jesus. Barabbas plots a revolt in Jerusalem during Passover, during which time Jesus enters the holy city in triumph and goes to the Temple to preach. The rebels storm the Antonia Fortress, but the legions of Pilate, having learned of the plot, ambush and crush the revolt, massacring the rebels, leaving Barabbas as the sole survivor who ends up getting arrested.

Jesus meets the disciples on the evening of Thursday, having supper one last time with them and afterwards goes to pray at Gethsemane. In the meantime, Judas wants Jesus to free Judea from the Romans, and, to force his hand, Judas delivers him to the Jewish authorities. Jesus is brought before Caiaphas and then brought before Pilate. Pilate starts the trial, but sensing that the issue is one of Jewish sensibilities, sends him to Herod Antipas, who, in turn, sends him back.

Pilate is infuriated by Antipas' returning of Jesus and commands his soldiers to scourge Jesus. The people demand the release of Barabbas, and Pilate bows to their pressure and sentences Jesus to be crucified. Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns on his head, carries his cross to Golgotha where he is crucified with two thieves, one of them being the penitent thief Dismas and the other, the Impenitent thief, Gestas.

Desperate because he has betrayed Jesus to his death, Judas hangs himself and his body is found by Barabbas. Jesus dies in front of his mother, the apostle John, a few soldiers, Claudia (Pilate's wife), and Lucius (who utters the fateful words: "He is truly the Christ"). His body is taken down from the cross and is carried to a rock tomb. Two days later, Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty, and encounters the Risen Jesus.

The film ends on the shores of Lake Tiberias when Jesus appears to the Apostles for "a final time" according to the narration, and tells them to bring his message to the ends of the world. Only his shadow is visible, forming the shape of a cross where it falls on the stretched-out fishing nets. The apostles then leave, and, as the shadow of Jesus falls across the screen, it could be assumed that he is ascending to Heaven.

In a warbot factory on planet Quartu, a defective but intelligent robot escapes and crash-lands on Veldin, the homeworld of the mechanic Ratchet (Mikey Kelley) (a feline-like humanoid known as a Lombax). After awaking, the robot, nicknamed "Clank" (David Kaye), reveals to Ratchet that he is on a mission to stop Chairman Drek (Kevin Michael Richardson), a corrupt Blargian business tycoon who harvests inhabited planets to create a new one for his race, the Blarg, due to theirs having been overpopulated and severely polluted. However, by doing so, the selected planets are destroyed in the process. Clank offered to start Ratchet's ship using a robotic ignition system, and in exchange, Ratchet agreed to take him to the planet presented in the infobot Clank obtained from Quartu. Joining forces, the two take out several of Drek's operations one-by-one while gathering gradual information on his plans. This move enrages Drek, who launches a manhunt for the duo.

Ratchet and Clank seek to enlist the help of Captain Qwark (Jim Ward), the Solana Galaxy's most popular superhero/celebrity. Once Ratchet and Clank locate Qwark in his trailer on Planet Rilgar, they agree to meet at Qwark's private headquarters on Umbris. After surviving his obstacle course, Ratchet and Clank are betrayed by Qwark, who reveals that he was working for Drek the entire time as a highly paid spokesperson for the Chairman's new planet. Qwark leaves the duo to die in the lair of a Blargian Snagglebeast, which is easily dispatched by Ratchet. Determined on getting revenge for Qwark's deception, a bitter Ratchet liberates more Blarg-conquered planets, eventually coming across a Blargian moonbase. Qwark, attempting to make sure that the duo does not interfere in Drek's plans, engages them in a grueling space battle that ends with Qwark being shot down and Ratchet and Clank leaving in satisfaction, their vengeance finally laid to rest.

Ratchet and Clank fly to Quartu in order to find out about the Blarg's next move. Immediately after realizing that Drek intends to destroy Veldin with a planet-destroying weapon called the Deplanetizer and allow his already-completed planet to take its place of orbit, Ratchet swears revenge on Drek for his mercilessness. The Blarg and Drek are pursued to Veldin by a vengeful Ratchet, and soon a vicious battle ensues. Once the fight reaches the Deplanetizer, Drek reveals that he was the one who polluted the Blargian homeworld, and did so as an attempt to make a profit from creating and selling the artificial planet to the Blarg. He intends to repeat the whole process over-and-over again until he becomes the richest person in the galaxy. Ratchet launches Drek to his new planet, which is destroyed when Ratchet fires the Deplanetizer at it, killing Drek. Chunks of the planet begin to hit Veldin causing the duo to nearly fall to their death. Clank notes his arm to be badly damaged, but Ratchet remarks he will be fine and seems to leave the scene. A distraught Clank then turns around and begins walking away; however, Ratchet returns to take Clank home and repair him. The duo then walk home together, their bond as friends now cemented.

In a post-credits scene, Qwark advertises his "Personal Hygienator", much to Ratchet and Clank's disgust and discomfort, and Clank turns off the Holovision (TV) ending the game.

In the future, mankind has made great advances in interstellar travel and subsequently colonized the Solar System. The extrasolar settlements, research outposts, mines, commercial colonies, and spacecraft and space stations throughout the Solar System are protected by a mighty, interstellar military conglomerate named the Planet Defense Corps.

When Europa-1, the flagship of the Planet Defense Corps, is attacked by an unknown yet lethal aggressor of apparently extraterrestrial nature, the Planet Defense Corps call in Zero Tolerance, an elite strike squad of five specialty-trained commandos. A recording of the last transmission from Europa-1 reveals extensive fire damage to the warship, almost total casualties, and otherworldly creatures hunting the few remaining survivors of the attack. Also, the nuclear cooling system of Europa-1 has been damaged by a small arms fire and a core breach caused by overheating will destroy the starship in a matter of hours.

As a member of the Zero Tolerance squad, the player character is ordered during the crisis briefing to infiltrate Europa-1 before it explodes. Their mission is to eliminate the mysterious alien aggressor from within, and also the transformed humans of Europa-1 they have “infected”, in the next few hours to erase all evidence of the attack and the alien intruders.

Gregory Underwood is an awkward teenager who plays on his school football team. They are not doing very well, so the coach holds a trial to find new players. Dorothy shows up and, despite the coach's sexist misgivings, proves to be a very good player. She subsequently takes Gregory's place as centre forward, and Gregory in turn replaces his friend Andy as goalkeeper.

Gregory is all for her making the team, as he finds her very attractive. However, he has to compete for her attention with all the other boys who share the same opinion. Gregory initially confides in his best friend Steve, the most mature of Gregory's circle of friends, and asks him for help in attracting Dorothy. Steve, however, is unable to assist him.

Acting on the advice of his precocious 10-year-old sister Madeleine, he awkwardly asks Dorothy out on a date. She accepts, but Dorothy's friend, Carol, shows up at the rendezvous instead and informs Gregory that something had come up; Dorothy will not be able to make it. He is disappointed, but Carol talks him into taking her to the chip shop.

When they arrive, she hands him off to another friend, Margo, and leaves. By then, Gregory is rather confused, but goes for a walk with the new girl. On their stroll, they encounter a waiting Susan, another of Dorothy's friends, and Margo leaves. Susan confesses that it was all arranged by her friends, including Dorothy. She explains, "It's just the way girls work. They help each other."

They go to the park and talk. At the date's end, Gregory is more than pleased with Susan, and the two kiss numerous times on his doorstep before calling it a night and arranging a second date. Madeleine, who had been watching from the window, quizzes him on his date and calls him a liar when he claims he did not kiss Susan.

Gregory's friends, Andy and Charlie, are even more inept with girls but see Gregory at various times with three apparent dates, and are envious of his new success. They try to hitchhike to Caracas, where Andy has heard the women greatly outnumber the men, but fail at that as well.

In the world of dragons, the Dragon Kingdom consists of five Homeworlds – the Artisans, the Peace Keepers, the Magic Crafters, the Beast Makers, and the Dream Weavers – which have lived in harmony for many years. One day, a TV interview with a pair of dragons from the Artisan realm catches the attention of Gnasty Gnorc, a powerful gnorc (half gnome and half orc) who was banished from the kingdom due to his abrasive demeanor and sent to an abandoned junkyard, which he renames to "Gnasty's World". After hearing one of the dragons in the broadcast openly dismiss him as being simple-minded, not a threat and calling him ugly, this makes Gnasty Gnorc lose his temper and unleashes a full-fledged attack on the kingdom. Using his magic, he casts a spell across the land that encases every dragon in a crystal shell; he also steals the dragons' prized collection of treasure, turning the gemstones into devious gnorc soldiers and other creatures to help him take over the dragon worlds. Spyro, a young purple dragon, is the only dragon that manages to avoid getting crystallized by the attack. Aided by his dragonfly companion, Sparx, Spyro eagerly sets out to locate and defeat Gnasty Gnorc.

Spyro visits each of the dragon homeworlds, defeating Gnorc's forces who have been set out to stop him. Along the way, he frees the crystallized dragons, who give him advice and urge him to recover any stolen treasure and dragon eggs along the way. He eventually makes his way to Gnasty's World, where he finally confronts and defeats Gnasty Gnorc. After Spyro's quest is over, he has access to Gnorc's treasure portal, which can only be opened if Spyro rescues every dragon in the kingdom and recovers all of the dragons' treasure. A secret ending can then be unlocked by retrieving everything inside of the treasure portal. In this ending, Spyro is seen getting interviewed on TV when another spell is placed on the dragons, prompting Spyro to set out on yet another adventure.

Characters

The player character and main protagonist is Ratchet, a Lombax from the planet Veldin (voiced by James Arnold Taylor). He wields a wrench as a melee weapon and can use a large arsenal of weapons. Clank, Ratchet's robotic sidekick and co-protagonist (voiced by David Kaye), is usually attached to Ratchet's back and uses special attachments to help Ratchet's movement on ground and air. Dr. Nefarious, the main antagonist of the game (voiced by Armin Shimerman), is a robotic tyrant with the intent of exterminating all organic life. At the end of the game, Nefarious is left stranded on an asteroid, eventually making cameos and reappearances in later titles of the series.

Plot

While playing chess in their penthouse in the Bogon Galaxy, Ratchet (James Arnold Taylor) and Clank (David Kaye) receive word that Ratchet's home planet, Veldin, is under attack by an army of Tyhrranoids. Posing as an officer in the Galactic Rangers, he leads an assault that drives off the invaders, who appear to use very sophisticated weapons and equipment. At a post-victory briefing, the Galactic President informs the duo that a robotic villain known as Dr. Nefarious (Armin Shimerman) is believed to be responsible for organizing the invasion. As very little is known about Nefarious, the Rangers decide to track down the only man to have ever beaten him: Captain Qwark (Jim Ward). Ratchet discovers a feral Qwark living with an indigenous tribe on planet Florana and takes him to the Starship Phoenix, where he meets Ranger Captain, Sasha Phyronix (Leslie Carrara-Rudolph). Upon regaining his sanity after watching his old adventures reenacted via vid-comics, Qwark forms the "Q-Force", an "elite" squad that answers only to him, and orders Ratchet, Clank, and Q-Force operative Skidd McMarx (Neil Flynn) to infiltrate Nefarious's base on planet Aquatos. Hacking his database, Clank obtains a map of Tyhrranosis, the Tyhrranoid home world. After Ratchet succeeds in killing the Tyhrranoid queen, Dr. Nefarious sends a transmission, mocking the Q-Force; Big Al (Chris Hatfield), the technical expert of the team, traces it to a munitions factory on planet Daxx.

There, Ratchet and Clank learn that Nefarious has constructed a weapon called the Biobliterator, but they are unable to find any information on it. They also find a music video produced by pop star Courtney Gears (Melissa Disney) (a robotic parody of Britney Spears), in which she instructs robots to destroy organic lifeforms. Clank sets up a meeting with Gears, but she renders him unconscious and turns him over to Dr. Nefarious. Aware of Clank's fame as the star of "Secret Agent Clank", Nefarious asks him to serve as the face of his plan to wipe out all organic races, but he refuses. In response, Nefarious creates an evil double named Klunk (also voiced by Kaye) and has him take Clank's place. Unaware of the deception, Ratchet undertakes a mission with Skidd to investigate enemy activity on the Obani Moons. When Ratchet returns to the Phoenix, Gears abducts Skidd and turns him into a robot. Ratchet confronts and disables her in combat, then gets Skidd to safety. Meanwhile, Sasha locates Nefarious' ship, the Leviathan, at a remote spaceport, and sends him and Qwark to apprehend the doctor. Nefarious reveals that the whole encounter is a trap, and he activates the Leviathan's self-destruct system before escaping. Qwark refuses to leave, citing the need to gather intel, and seemingly perishes when the ship explodes.

After a brief memorial for Qwark on the Phoenix, Ratchet goes to assist Ranger forces battling a Tyhrranoid invasion in the city of Metropolis. Unveiling his newly completed Biobliterator, Nefarious uses it to turn both Metropolis's citizens and his Tyhrranoid soldiers into robots. Making yet another escape, he orders Klunk to kill Ratchet. After besting the clone, Ratchet and Clank are reunited and vow to stop Nefarious. While searching the remains of the Leviathan, they find evidence that Qwark faked his death. A secret message hidden on board the Phoenix reveals the location of a secret hideout where Qwark, overcome with cowardice, refuses to fight any longer. After fighting off an attack on the Phoenix, the duo intercept the Biobliterator and Clank destroys it with an ion cannon. However, Sasha informs them that a second, more advanced, Biobliterator is being prepped for launch at Nefarious's main command center on planet Mylon, Ratchet and Clank locate Nefarious and defeat him, but he activates the Biobliterator, which transforms into a giant, heavily armed robot. Before he can crush the two, a reinvigorated Qwark flies in to distract him, giving the duo an opening to destroy the Biobliterator. Nefarious doesn't bother to specify a destination when he engages his teleporter, stranding him and his butler Lawrence on a distant asteroid. With Nefarious defeated, the Q-Force and their allies attend a private screening of the latest ''Secret Agent Clank'' holofilm.

While playing chess in their penthouse in the Bogon Galaxy, Ratchet (James Arnold Taylor) and Clank (David Kaye) receive word that Ratchet's home planet, Veldin, is under attack by an army of Tyhrranoids. Posing as an officer in the Galactic Rangers, he leads an assault that drives off the invaders, who appear to use very sophisticated weapons and equipment. At a post-victory briefing, the Galactic President informs the duo that a robotic villain known as Dr. Nefarious (Armin Shimerman) is believed to be responsible for organizing the invasion. As very little is known about Nefarious, the Rangers decide to track down the only man to have ever beaten him: Captain Qwark (Jim Ward). Ratchet discovers a feral Qwark living with an indigenous tribe on planet Florana and takes him to the Starship Phoenix, where he meets Ranger Captain, Sasha Phyronix (Leslie Carrara-Rudolph). Upon regaining his sanity after watching his old adventures reenacted via vid-comics, Qwark forms the "Q-Force", an "elite" squad that answers only to him, and orders Ratchet, Clank, and Q-Force operative Skidd McMarx (Neil Flynn) to infiltrate Nefarious's base on planet Aquatos. Hacking his database, Clank obtains a map of Tyhrranosis, the Tyhrranoid home world. After Ratchet succeeds in killing the Tyhrranoid queen, Dr. Nefarious sends a transmission, mocking the Q-Force; Big Al (Chris Hatfield), the technical expert of the team, traces it to a munitions factory on planet Daxx.

There, Ratchet and Clank learn that Nefarious has constructed a weapon called the Biobliterator, but they are unable to find any information on it. They also find a music video produced by pop star Courtney Gears (Melissa Disney) (a robotic parody of Britney Spears), in which she instructs robots to destroy organic lifeforms. Clank sets up a meeting with Gears, but she renders him unconscious and turns him over to Dr. Nefarious. Aware of Clank's fame as the star of "Secret Agent Clank", Nefarious asks him to serve as the face of his plan to wipe out all organic races, but he refuses. In response, Nefarious creates an evil double named Klunk (also voiced by Kaye) and has him take Clank's place. Unaware of the deception, Ratchet undertakes a mission with Skidd to investigate enemy activity on the Obani Moons. When Ratchet returns to the Phoenix, Gears abducts Skidd and turns him into a robot. Ratchet confronts and disables her in combat, then gets Skidd to safety. Meanwhile, Sasha locates Nefarious' ship, the Leviathan, at a remote spaceport, and sends him and Qwark to apprehend the doctor. Nefarious reveals that the whole encounter is a trap, and he activates the Leviathan's self-destruct system before escaping. Qwark refuses to leave, citing the need to gather intel, and seemingly perishes when the ship explodes.

After a brief memorial for Qwark on the Phoenix, Ratchet goes to assist Ranger forces battling a Tyhrranoid invasion in the city of Metropolis. Unveiling his newly completed Biobliterator, Nefarious uses it to turn both Metropolis's citizens and his Tyhrranoid soldiers into robots. Making yet another escape, he orders Klunk to kill Ratchet. After besting the clone, Ratchet and Clank are reunited and vow to stop Nefarious. While searching the remains of the Leviathan, they find evidence that Qwark faked his death. A secret message hidden on board the Phoenix reveals the location of a secret hideout where Qwark, overcome with cowardice, refuses to fight any longer. After fighting off an attack on the Phoenix, the duo intercept the Biobliterator and Clank destroys it with an ion cannon. However, Sasha informs them that a second, more advanced, Biobliterator is being prepped for launch at Nefarious's main command center on planet Mylon, Ratchet and Clank locate Nefarious and defeat him, but he activates the Biobliterator, which transforms into a giant, heavily armed robot. Before he can crush the two, a reinvigorated Qwark flies in to distract him, giving the duo an opening to destroy the Biobliterator. Nefarious doesn't bother to specify a destination when he engages his teleporter, stranding him and his butler Lawrence on a distant asteroid. With Nefarious defeated, the Q-Force and their allies attend a private screening of the latest ''Secret Agent Clank'' holofilm.

Setting

''Dawn of Sorrow'' is set in the fictional universe of the ''Castlevania'' series. The primary premise of the series is the struggle of the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan against the vampire Dracula and his legacy. Before the events of ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow'', Dracula was defeated and his castle sealed within a solar eclipse. With Dracula dead, a prophecy relating to who would inherit his powers drove the events of ''Aria of Sorrow'', with the protagonist, Soma Cruz, realizing that he was Dracula's reincarnation.'''Soma:''' "So ... you are trying to tell me now that Dracula has been resurrected?" / '''Graham:''' "No. Dracula perished in 1999. You do know of the prophecy of 1999, don't you?" / '''Soma:''' "Nostradamus' great prophecy?" / '''Graham:''' "That's right. Dracula resurrected exactly as he predicted. But vampire hunters destroyed him completely. They ended his regeneration cycle by sealing his castle ... the symbol of his demonic power, inside the darkness of an eclipse." / '''Soma:''' "And that eclipse is where we are now?" / '''Graham:''' "Yes, but there's still more to the story." / '''Soma:''' "There's more?" / '''Graham:''' "In the year 2035, a new master will come to the castle, and he will inherit ALL of Dracula's powers." Soma manages to escape his fate of becoming the new dark lord with the help of his allies. ''Dawn of Sorrow'' takes place one year after the events of ''Aria of Sorrow'', when Soma believes his inherited powers have been lost.'''Mina Hakuba:''' "And what was it called? You know, the ability to use the power of monsters?" / '''Soma Cruz:''' "You mean the power of dominance? I lost it when we escaped Dracula's Castle, remember?" Most of the game is played inside a copy of Dracula's castle, which is subdivided into several areas through which the player must venture over the course of the game. The future setting of both ''Aria of Sorrow'' and ''Dawn of Sorrow'', as well as a storyline beginning after Dracula's defeat, reflects Koji Igarashi's desire to take a "different route" with ''Aria of Sorrow''.

Characters

The primary playable character in ''Dawn of Sorrow'' is Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula, the longtime antagonist of the ''Castlevania'' series. Mina Hakuba, the daughter of the priest of the Hakuba shrine supports him in his quest; Genya Arikado, a mysterious government agent dealing primarily with the supernatural; Julius Belmont, the latest member of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters featured in the series; Yoko Belnades, a witch in the service of the Roman Catholic Church; and Hammer, a vendor of military material who retains a large information network.

A cult dedicated to the resurrection of Dracula serves as the game's antagonists. Celia Fortner is a shadow priestess heading the cult. She seeks to revive him to prevent the loss of her magical powers. Dmitrii Blinov, a ruthless manipulator, and Dario Bossi, a vicious firebrand, are Celia's primary lieutenants. They are the "dark lord's candidates", born on the day Dracula was slain and thus can assume the mantle of Dracula by destroying his soul, which is present in Soma Cruz.'''Soma Cruz:''' "So those two are the dark lord's candidates ..." / '''Celia Fortner:''' "Correct. They were born at the same time as Dracula's demise. They are inheritors of Dracula's dark powers." / '''Soma Cruz:''' "But that's no guarantee that they can become the dark lord." / '''Celia Fortner:''' "They can. By shattering Dracula's soul."

Story

One year after the events in ''Aria of Sorrow'', Soma is living peacefully, and believes his powers have been lost. A woman who identifies herself as Celia Fortner, appears and summons several monsters. Arikado arrives to help Soma defeat the monsters, after which Soma absorbs their souls. Celia retreats, proclaiming that she will destroy Soma. Soma expresses disbelief at the return of his powers, but Arikado reveals that his powers were never lost, only dormant.'''Soma Cruz:''' "Yeah, I'm fine. But that power ... It returned! Arikado, what's going on?" / '''Genya Arikado:''' "The power didn't 'return'. It was always with you. You just never had a need for it since you fled the castle. And that set free all the souls that you had gained dominance over." He informs Soma that Celia is the head of a cult that seeks the resurrection of the dark lord.'''Genya Arikado:''' "They want to resurrect the lord of darkness. Like some sought to do with Dracula." / '''Soma Cruz:''' "I guess they don't like the fact that I didn't become the 'lord of darkness'." / '''Genya Arikado:''' "Not only that, they intend to create a new lord by eliminating you." He leaves, instructing Soma not to pursue Celia.

Soma, however, uses information acquired from Hammer to locate the cult's base, a facsimile of Dracula's castle.'''Soma Cruz:''' "So, the cult's base is here. Hammer's info wasn't so iffy after all." Hammer arrives, and as he has left the military, agrees to help Soma by opening up a shop in the village outside the castle.'''Hammer:''' "Aw, man ... Well, since I'm here, I'd better make the best of it. I guess I'm back in business, and you're my customer!" After entering the castle, Soma encounters Yoko and Julius Belmont. As Julius leaves, Soma escorts Yoko to a safe location. During this time, she instructs him in the use of a Magic Seal, which is necessary to defeat certain monsters in the castle.'''Yoko Belnades:''' "The cult leader appears to create gates that draw the power of darkness. Monsters exposed to that power are said to be invincible." '''Soma Cruz:''' "So how am I supposed to destroy them?" / '''Yoko Belnades:''' "That's where this Magic Seal comes in." As Soma travels farther into the castle, he meets Celia, who is flanked by two men, Dmitrii Blinov and Dario Bossi. Celia explains their nature as the "dark lord's candidates", who can become the dark lord by destroying Soma. He later encounters Dmitrii and is able to defeat him. Soma gains dominance over his soul, although he acquires no abilities.'''Soma Cruz:''' "Unh! What was that? Did I gain dominance over a human soul? No, I gained no power ... But ... what was that light?" As Soma travels further, he comes upon Dario. Soma bests him, and Celia teleports Dario away from harm.

Soma meets Arikado, who is initially angered by Soma's presence, but accepts the situation. He gives Soma a letter and a talisman from Mina. Soma briefs Arikado on the current situation, and Arikado leaves to locate Dario. Soma comes upon Dario and Julius who is later defeated due to his inability to use the Magic Seals.'''Julius Belmont:''' "Watch it. He's tough. Especially for me, since I can't use Magic Seals." Dario retreats, instructing Soma to fight him in the castle's throne room. Soma does so, lambasting Dario for desiring only power, and promising to defeat him.'''Soma Cruz:''' "Was there ever any doubt? Power is nothing if you don't know how to use it. I'll never lose to a fool dominated by his own power like you." Before the battle begins, Soma uses one of his souls to transport himself into the mirror in the room, revealing Aguni, the flame demon sealed within Dario's soul. Soma defeats Aguni, leaving Dario powerless. As Dario flees, Celia arrives, and instructs Soma to come to the castle's center.

Upon arriving, Soma is forced to watch Celia kill Mina. Furious, he begins to succumb to his dark power.'''Soma Cruz:''' "If it means getting Mina's revenge, I'll do it. Make me the dark lord." The talisman Mina gave Soma is able to slow the transformation, enabling Arikado to arrive in time to inform Soma that the "Mina" who Celia killed was a doppelgänger.'''Genya Arikado:''' "That Mina is a fake!" / '''Celia Fortner:''' "Arikado! Why must you always get in the way?" / '''Genya Arikado:''' "How clever of you to use a Doppelganger. Ah, but you haven't won just yet ..." This aborts the transformation, but a soul leaves Soma and enters the doppelgänger, which takes on the appearance of Dmitrii. Dmitrii says that when Soma defeated him he allowed himself to be absorbed, wishing to use his powers to copy Soma's ability to dominate the souls of Dracula's minions. He then leaves with Celia to absorb the souls of many powerful demons and monsters in an attempt to increase his power.'''Genya Arikado:''' "You copied the power of dominance from Soma?" / '''Dmitrii Blinov:''' "Ah, so you understand. I touched the boy's soul and copied his ability." Soma and Arikado chase after the pair, and find them in the castle's basement. Dmitrii, using Celia as a sacrifice, seals Arikado's powers, and engages Soma. However, his soul is unable to bear the strain of controlling the demons he has absorbed, and they erupt out of him, combining into one gargantuan creature called Menace. Soma manages to defeat it, but the souls composing the demon begin to fall under Soma's dominance. He becomes overwhelmed and rejects them, fleeing from the castle with Arikado. Soma is conflicted over the present situation. He believes it was his responsibility to become the dark lord, and that the events of the game were the result of his not accepting this responsibility. Arikado convinces him his fate is not fixed.'''Soma Cruz:''' "Then that means there will always be a need for a dark lord. All because I ducked out from becoming the next in line!" / '''Genya Arikado:''' "Don't misconstrue me! Perhaps there is a need for the dark lord ... But there is no reason at all for you to become the dark lord." / '''Soma Cruz:''' "But if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened!" / '''Genya Arikado:''' "You're neither a god nor a demon. You're only human. You have no chance at ever achieving perfection. Or are you saying you want to be the dark lord?" / '''Soma Cruz:''' "No ... Of course not." Soma then shares a tender moment with Mina, much to the amusement of his onlooking friends.

If Soma does not have Mina's talisman equipped when he witnesses Celia slay the Mina doppelganger, he will not realize the deception, and fully accept his dark powers, ending the game and unlocking a new mode, in which Julius, Yoko and Arikado, now assuming his true form as Alucard, must venture into the castle to kill Soma. The game may also end early if Dario is confronted directly from the start, upon which he will lose control of Aguni and die by immolation, enabling Celia to escape and Dmitrii to secretly possess Soma through his absorbed soul.

After a successful Sydney bank robbery, with the robbers wearing pig masks and wielding shotguns, the man in charge, "The Boss", plans a further and larger payroll robbery for two days later worth at least $1.5 million, hoping that he can trust his less-than-competent gang headed by Whitey and Moustache to do the job properly, with anyone who doesn't answering to him.

Two young BMX experts, P. J. and Goose, meet Judy, who is working as a trolley collector at the Warringah Mall during the school holidays in order to be able to buy her own BMX bike, and accidentally get Judy fired from her job when they crash into trolleys pushed away by the local "Creep". The three go out in Goose's dad's runabout on the harbour searching for cockles to sell in order to fix their own crashed bikes, as well as getting Judy her own, and stumble onto and steal a box of police-band walkie talkies that the bank robbers were hoping to use to monitor on police traffic. After stealing the box, the kids pass Whitey and Moustache who are on their way in their high-powered motorboat to pick it up.

Judy, P.J. and Goose sell the walkie-talkies to other kids in the area. The Bayside Police are able to hear the kids using the walkie talkies. Judy, P.J. and Goose are also unaware that the robbers know who stole the box. After they are spotted and chased late at night through a cemetery by Whitey and Moustache wearing monster masks (going formal, according to Whitey), they manage to escape. The next day, P.J. and Goose pick up their newly repaired bikes while Judy buys her bike. Judy is caught the next day by Whitey and Moustache while getting a second walkie talkie for The Creep, but escapes with the help of P.J. and Goose. The goons chase the Bandits in a cartoonish chase across various sites around Sydney, including a memorable escape down the Manly Waterworks water slides, complete with BMX bikes.

The trio are finally arrested but escape police custody and, with the help of the local kids, launch their own plan to foil the planned payroll robbery. Using the walkie-talkies, the Bandits pinpoint the meeting place for the robbers, then proceed to ambush and apprehend the robbers. The Boss, Whitey and Moustache escape in a removal truck with Judy as a hostage, with P.J. and Goose taking chase. They cause the truck to crash, with police soon arriving to arrest The Boss, Whitey and Moustache.

The police build a BMX track as thanks for the capture. In its opening meeting, the BMX Bandits sweep the main awards.

Two years after defeating Clockwerk, Sly Cooper breaks into the Museum of Natural History in Cairo to steal the Clockwerk parts and destroy them to end his threat against Sly's family for good, but discovers that the parts are already missing. Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox and her new partner, Constable Neyla, confront Sly, but he escapes before Carmelita and Neyla can arrest him. Before making his escape, Sly hears Neyla suggest that the evidence actually suggests that another group of criminals, the Klaww Gang stole the parts for their own use.

The Cooper Gang heads to Paris, where the first Klaww Gang member, disgraced iguana artist-turned nightclub owner Dimitri, is using the Clockwerk tail feathers as printing plates to create counterfeit money. Sly and the gang shut the operation down and Dimitri is arrested by Interpol. The gang then heads to India, where the second Klaww Gang member Rajan the tiger puts Clockwerk's wings on display at a ball he is hosting. Rajan is also the kingpin of a local crime syndicate that grows and sells illegal spices indigenous to the nearby Indian jungle. Also present at the ball are the other Klaww Gang members and several undercover Interpol agents, including Carmelita and Neyla. The gang steals the Clockwerk wings in the middle of the ballroom while a disguised Sly creates a distraction by dancing with Carmelita. After the Cooper gang escapes with the Clockwerk wings, Carmelita blows her cover and starts making arrests. The Klaww Gang flees the scene, and Rajan goes into hiding somewhere deep in the jungle. The gang tracks him to his spice-growing facility in a long-abandoned temple, where he is using half of the Clockwerk heart to super-irrigate his spice crops. He carries the other half of the heart on the end of a staff that he carries with him at all times. The gang steals both halves of the heart and incapacitates Rajan, but Carmelita, Neyla and the Contessa the spider arrive. Neyla frames Carmelita of working with the Cooper Gang on the night the Clockwerk wings were stolen. She betrays the Cooper Gang and puts Sly, Murray, and Carmelita under arrest.

Bentley tracks his teammates down in Prague, where they are being held in the Contessa's prison. He learns that she is a secret member of the Klaww Gang, using her position as a high-ranking prison warden to hypnotize inmates to tell her where they've hidden their stolen fortunes. He frees Sly and Murray, but the Contessa escapes to her castle estate. Locating her there, the gang arrives to find the Contessa besieged by Neyla and a team of mercenaries, who have come to arrest her for corruption. Sly also discovers that the Contessa is keeping Carmelita imprisoned in her castle's "re-education tower". There, the Contessa is using the Clockwerk eyes to hypnotize Carmelita to become her mindless servant. The gang frees Carmelita and steals the Clockwerk eyes, while Neyla is promoted to the rank of Captain and arrests the Contessa for what she did.

The gang heads to Canada, where shipping baron Jean Bison, a Wild West era bison frontiersman who was frozen and thawed out in modern times, is moving spice using Clockwerk's lungs and stomach to allow his trains to run indefinitely. While in Bison's hideout, Sly overhears a phone conversation between him and Arpeggio the parrot, the Klaww Gang's chief inventor and the only other Klaww gang member not in police custody. Arpeggio inquires as to whether the "northern light battery" will be ready when he comes to pick it up; Jean Bison says that it will. After the Cooper Gang sabotages Jean Bison's trains and makes off with the three Clockwerk parts, he flees to a lumber camp, where he puts the Clockwerk talons up as a prize in the Lumberjack Games. The Cooper Gang discovers the northern light battery at the camp and modifies it so that they can stow away inside it when Arpeggio arrives to pick it up. The gang also attempts to win the Clockwerk talons at the Lumberjack Games, but are caught cheating and captured. Bentley escapes the sawmill control room where the gang is being held and confronts Jean Bison. Before Bentley defeats him, Bison tells the gang that he found their hideout on the outskirts of his lumber camp and sold all of the Clockwerk parts they had stolen up to that point, including the talons, to Arpeggio, who now possesses all of Clockwerk. After defeating Jean Bison, the Cooper Gang escapes his sawmill and stows away inside the northern light silo battery before Arpeggio's blimp picks it up, forced to abandon the team van.

On Arpeggio's blimp, Sly discovers that Arpeggio has reconstructed Clockwerk and discovers that Neyla has been Arpeggio's agent the whole time, attempting to steal the Clockwerk parts to aid his attempt to join his frail body with Clockwerk and be made immortal. The two reveal their plan: to use the Northern Light battery to power a hypnotic light show over Paris. Using the hatred generated by the hypnotized Parisians who have eaten food covered in illegal spice served at Dimitri's club, Arpeggio hopes to power Clockwerk's body, which had previously sustained itself on Clockwerk's hatred for Sly's family. Neyla betrays and kills Arpeggio, and enters Clockwerk, becoming Clock-La. The gang disables the blimp's engines to weaken Clock-La, and Sly teams up with Carmelita to shoot the bird down. Unfortunately, Clock-La flies into the blimp, taking Bentley and Murray hostage who were in the battery that served as a safehouse and causing the blimp to explode.

Clock-La crash lands in Paris, where Bentley removes Clockwerk's hate chip, the source of Clockwerk's immortality power. Unfortunately, the beak snaps shut on Bentley, seriously injuring him. Carmelita, angry that she missed Constable Neyla, smashes the hate chip, which causes Clockwerk to disintegrate and ends his curse on the Cooper family forever. She attempts to arrest the gang, but instead agrees to a deal: Sly surrenders himself without resisting, so that Carmelita let Bentley and Murray escape. The arrested Sly and Carmelita board a helicopter to the Paris police station, but Bentley and Murray dispatch the driver and sabotage the helicopter so it flies in circles. During the "ride", Sly and Carmelita have a casual conversation about their lives and interests. When Carmelita goes forward to ask the pilot why the journey is taking so long, Sly picks the lock on his handcuffs, jumps out of the helicopter, and paraglides to safety. Carmelita tells Sly that she will be seeing him soon.

During the credits, it's revealed what happened to the villains. Dimitri became a dance instructor on a cruise ship. Rajan became a rug and carpet merchant. The Contessa became a very successful real estate broker, using her hypnosis techniques on potential buyers. Jean Bison joined the EPA only to be frozen solid again while saving baby penguins.

In 1962, aboard the Italian ocean liner ''MS Antonia Graza'', passengers dance to the song "Senza Fine" sung by Francesca. A young girl, Katie, sits alone until the ship's captain offers to dance with her. A hand lifts a lever that tightens a wire cord. The wire snaps and whips across the dance floor, bisecting the passengers and crew. Katie is spared as the captain pushes her down out of the wire's path, though he is killed.

Forty years later, a salvage crew — Captain Sean Murphy, Maureen Epps, Greer, Dodge, Munder and Santos — is approached by Jack Ferriman, a weather service pilot who spotted a vessel adrift in the Bering Sea. It can be claimed by whoever brings it to port. The crew sets out on their salvage tug, the ''Arctic Warrior''. The ship is the ''Antonia Graza'', missing since 1962. Boarding the abandoned liner, the salvagers discover nine boxes, each containing twenty-eight 100-oz gold bars ( ).

After a series of supernatural events, the group decides to leave with the gold, but an invisible force sabotages the ''Arctic Warrior'' with a propane gas leak. The tugboat explodes, killing Santos.

With no other option, the group begins repairing the ''Graza''. Greer encounters the apparition of Francesca, who seduces him into cheating on his fiancée, then leads him to fall down an elevator shaft, killing him. Murphy enters the captain's cabin and encounters the ghost of the captain. The captain explains that they recovered the gold from a sinking cruise ship, the ''Lorelei'', along with a sole survivor. Murphy is shown a picture of the survivor, whom he recognizes. He rushes to tell the others but hallucinates and sees everyone as the ghost of the burned Santos, who provokes him into a murderous rage. The others think Murphy has gone mad and lock him in the drained fish tank; Epps later finds him drowned as an invisible force has opened a valve filling the tank with water.

Epps meets Katie's ghost, who reveals what happened on the ''Graza''. The sole survivor of the ''Lorelei'' convinced many of the ''Graza'''s crew to murder their passengers, as well as the captain and officers, for the gold. After murdering the passengers, the crew turned on each other. Francesca killed the officer who survived. The mastermind behind the massacre killed Francesca by releasing a hook which slashed her neck. He then branded her palm with a hook-shaped symbol using only his hands. The man is revealed as Jack Ferriman, the demonic spirit of a deceased sinner tasked with provoking people to sin, then killing them and bringing their souls to Hell. Epps deduces that Ferriman lured the salvage team to the ''Graza'' to repair it and decides to sink it to thwart his plan. Munder is crushed to death under the ship's gears while scuba diving in the flooded engine room. Epps tells Dodge to keep Jack on the ship's bridge while she sets explosives. Ferriman taunts Dodge, mocking him as a coward for never acting on his feelings for Epps, then charges him. Dodge shoots Ferriman with a shotgun and believes Ferriman to be dead.

Epps is setting explosives when she is confronted by Dodge. He tells her he killed Ferriman and that they can salvage the gold to start a life together, but Epps asks why Dodge has not asked her where Munder is. "Dodge" morphs into Ferriman, who killed Dodge. Ferriman plans to use the ''Graza'' as a trap to continue collecting souls. As long as the ''Graza'' is kept afloat, the souls of everyone who died aboard the ship will be dragged down when Ferriman fills his quota and returns to Hell. He offers to spare Epps's life in exchange for her not interfering, but she refuses. After a brief fight, Epps detonates the explosives. Ferriman is blown to pieces in the explosion, while Katie helps Epps escape the sinking ship. Katie and the other trapped souls are freed and ascend to Heaven.

Epps is found by a cruise ship and returned to land. As she is loaded into an ambulance, she sees the crates of gold being loaded onto the cruise ship by people who resemble her fellow ''Arctic Warrior'' crew, overseen by a resurrected Ferriman, who glares at her and carries on and she screams as the ambulance doors close.

Aging Reno, Nevada police detective Jerry Black attends a retirement party hosted by his department, at which Captain Pollack presents Jerry tickets to a fishing trip in Mexico as a gift. The celebration is interrupted by the discovery of a murdered child, Ginny Larsen. Jerry decides to go with another detective, Stan Krolak, to the scene of the crime.

Jerry delivers the bad news to Ginny's parents, and the mother, Margaret Larsen, makes Jerry swear on a cross, made by their daughter, that he will find the killer. A suspect, Toby Jay Wadenah, a Native American man with an intellectual disability, is found the next day. Stan uses Toby's disorder to his advantage, convincing him that he killed Ginny. After having confessed to doing so, Toby steals a deputy's gun and commits suicide. An autopsy on Ginny proves that she had consumed chocolate before she died; wrappers found in Toby's truck solidify the likelihood that he killed the little girl, and the case is closed, despite Jerry’s suspicions.

Still adamant about his pledge to find the killer, Jerry chooses not to go to Mexico and misses his flight. Instead, he visits Ginny's grandmother, Annalise Hansen, who tells him of the many stories that she and Ginny used to read; one tells of an angel who descends from Heaven in order to fly a deceased child over all the places they loved in life, before delivering them to God. Jerry then visits one of Ginny's friends, Becky Fiske, who reveals that she had made friends with a man she called "The Giant" shortly before she was killed. Jerry finds a picture Ginny drew of "The Giant", but it does not resemble Toby, and features a black station wagon and not the red truck driven by Toby. He takes the drawing with him.

Jerry goes to Stan and asks him to reopen the case. Stan refuses but gets Jerry more information about similar cases in the area. Jerry's investigations reveal three local, unsolved cases that bear the same M.O. as seen with Ginny's, and which Toby could not have possibly committed because he was incarcerated at the time. Jerry presents his research and Ginny's drawing to Captain Pollack and Stan, who are doubtful.

While fishing, Jerry notices a gas station that is located near the center of the cases. After buying the station, Jerry moves into the house behind it and meets local waitress/bartender Lori, and her daughter, Chrissy. He takes an interest in Chrissy and becomes friends with the small family. One night, Lori shows up at Jerry's house, bruised and battered, and explains that her ex (who has a restraining order) attacked her. Jerry, out of concern for their safety, suggests that Lori and Chrissy move in with him temporarily; she agrees. Jerry slowly develops a fatherly relationship with Chrissy, and even begins a romance with Lori herself.

One day, local pastor Gary Jackson visits Chrissy outside the station. Jerry suspects that Jackson is Ginny's killer after he invites Chrissy to his church. Jerry rushes to the church after Jackson picks her up one day while he was fishing, but finds it was nothing more than a close call, and that Jackson is not the killer.

Meanwhile, Chrissy begins meeting with a man who drives a black car with a toy porcupine hanging on the rear mirror; porcupines were another aspect of Ginny's drawing that have set Jerry off. At night, while reading her a bed-time story, Chrissy tells Jerry that she met a "wizard" who gave her porcupine candies and told her not to tell her parents of their correspondence. Chrissy alerts Jerry to a meeting that will happen between her and the "wizard" the next day. Using Chrissy as bait, Jerry stages an operation with Stan's help to catch the killer. However, as they await his arrival, the "wizard" dies in a car accident; hours later, Stan gives up and tells Lori what happened. She confronts Jerry angrily about putting Chrissy in danger, and breaks up with him.

Some time later, Jerry sits alone on a bench in front of the ruined gas station. Despondent, destitute, and drunk, Jerry ends up all alone, mumbling to himself that the killer is still out there, unaware that he is actually dead.

The novel is set in Dublin during the week leading up to the Easter Rising of 1916. All the characters are members of a complexly interrelated Anglo-Irish family. As the story begins Andrew Chase-White is a young Second lieutenant in King Edward's Horse, spending a leave with his family in Ireland before accompanying his regiment to France.

Andrew Chase-White grew up in England, the only child of Protestant Anglo-Irish parents. His recently widowed mother Hilda has decided to move to Ireland. Andrew's paternal grandfather was his grandmother's second husband. With her first husband she had two children, Brian and Millicent Dumay. Millicent married Sir Arthur Kinnard and inherited his property when he died young. Brian, who converted to Catholicism as a young man, married Arthur Kinnard's sister Kathleen, who also converted. They had two sons, Pat (Andrew's contemporary) and his younger brother Cathal Dumay, both ardent supporters of independence for Ireland. After Brian's death Kathleen married Andrew's Roman Catholic uncle Barnabas Drumm, Hilda's brother. A third Kinnard sibling, Heather, married Christopher Bellman and died young. Christopher's only child is Frances, whom Andrew has known all his life and plans to marry.

When Andrew and Frances visit Kathleen, Pat and Cathal in their house in Dublin, Andrew is goaded into taunting Pat with his failure to enlist in the British Army. The following day Andrew, Hilda, and Christopher call on Millicent in her Dublin house. Unknown to his family, Christopher is in love with Millie, whom he has been helping financially for several years, and has been trying to convince her to marry him. This is complicated by the fact that Frances dislikes Millie, but he is encouraged by the expectation that Andrew and Frances will soon marry. Millie promises to come to Christopher's house later in the week to give him her answer.

Pat's stepfather Barnabas Drumm is another of Millie's admirers. Years before, his passion for Millie had led to his leaving the seminary where he was training for the priesthood. His marriage to Kathleen proving unhappy, he reconnected with Millie and became a frequent visitor at her house, where he has the status of a tolerated relation. When Millie goes to Christopher's house to tell him she will accept his marriage proposal, their conversation is overheard by Barnabas.

Millie has allowed her cellar to be used as an arms depository by the Irish Volunteers. Pat Dumay, an officer in the organization, has been informed that an armed insurrection is planned for Easter Sunday, and comes to inspect the weapons. He encounters Millie, who informs him that she is in love with him and invites him to Rathblane, her country house in the Wicklow Mountains. Shocked, he runs away.

Andrew asks Frances to marry him, and is surprised and devastated when she refuses. Later he goes to Rathblane and confides in Millie that he is not engaged to Frances and that he is a virgin. Millie kisses him and offers to initiate him sexually, but he refuses her offer and leaves.

Pat and Cathal are bitterly disappointed on Saturday, when the insurrection in cancelled. In despair, Pat goes to Rathblane on Saturday night, and finds that Millie is already in bed with Andrew. He rushes out of the house, just as Christopher is arriving unexpectedly. Millie tells Christopher that she will not marry him after all, and that she has seduced Andrew and is in love with Pat.

On Monday morning Andrew goes to Pat's house, unaware of the rising rescheduled for that day. Pat takes him prisoner and leaves him handcuffed to Cathal in order to keep Cathal out of the fighting. They are freed just as the insurrection is starting and the novel ends with Andrew and Cathal observing the beginning of the rising in front of the General Post Office. An epilogue set in 1938 briefly describes the later lives and deaths of several of the protagonists.

In New York City, two men are rushing to court. One, a middle-aged, black insurance salesman named Doyle Gipson, a recovering alcoholic attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to stay sober, is en route to a hearing to argue for joint custody of his sons with his estranged wife. The other, a successful, young, white Wall Street attorney named Gavin Banek, is rushing to file a power of appointment document to prove a dead man signed his foundation over to Banek's law firm. Banek is distracted while driving on the FDR Drive and his Mercedes CLK320 collides with Gipson's 1988 Toyota Corolla. Banek tries to brush Gipson off with a blank check, rather than exchanging insurance information, thereby disobeying the law. Gipson refuses to accept the check and voices his desire to "do this right", but Banek, whose car is still drivable, insists upon leaving immediately. He leaves Gipson stranded, telling him, "better luck next time". After arriving to the court late, Gipson learns that the judge ruled against him in his absence, giving sole custody of the boys to Gipson's wife and allowing her to proceed with a plan to move to Oregon, never knowing that Gipson was about to buy a house locally and give it to his wife and children as part of his effort to make joint custody workable for everyone.

When Banek gets to court, he realizes that he dropped the crucial power of appointment file at the scene of the accident, and the judge gives him until the end of the day to retrieve it. Gipson, who scooped up the file, is torn, and initially refuses to return the file. Banek, who is desperate to get his papers back, goes to a "fixer", a shady computer hacker, and gets him to switch off Gipson's credit, destroying Gipson's chance for a home loan to keep his family together. Gipson is distraught when he finds out his credit has been ruined and he comes close to drinking again. Determined to get back at Banek, Gipson removes several lug nuts from one of Banek's wheels, and Banek suffers some minor injuries after his car crashes on the highway. An infuriated Banek goes to the elementary school of Gipson's children and tells school officials that Gipson plans to kidnap the boys, so Gipson is arrested and jailed. His enraged wife declares her intention to move forward with taking their sons to Oregon and says that Gipson will never see them again.

Both men, shaken by the consequences of their actions, start to reconsider their desire for vengeance and try to find a way out. Although it appears unlikely that either man will achieve what he had hoped, both resolve to let go and do what is right, and the two men apologize to each other. Gipson returns the file containing the power of appointment, which Banek has since learned was obtained illegally, and he uses it to blackmail his boss to conduct business honestly and get approval to represent Gipson pro bono to resolve his legal troubles. Banek also visits Gipson's wife, asking her to "give me five minutes." The next day, Gipson is walking and notices his wife and sons standing across the street, smiling at him.

In an alternate retrofuturistic Earth, a powerful church called the Magisterium strictly controls the populace's beliefs and teachings. In this world, every person's inner spirit partially exists outside the body, manifesting itself as an animal companion called a dæmon. The dæmon communicates with the person and must remain in close physical proximity. Witches, however, have bird-shape dæmons that are able to travel long distances from their bodies.

Lyra Belacqua, whose dæmon is named Pantalaimon or "Pan", is an orphan being raised at Jordan College in Oxford. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, a noted explorer and scholar, has been absent seeking the elusive Dust, a cosmic particle that the Magisterium forbids to be mentioned. When Asriel returns to Oxford, Lyra saves his life after seeing a visiting Magisterium agent spike his wine with an unidentified poison. Asriel later gives a presentation to other scholars regarding his discovery that Dust existing in the North Pole links to infinite worlds. Asriel receives a grant for another expedition and if his theory is proven, it could severely undermine the Magisterium's control.

Lyra meets the wealthy Mrs. Coulter, a "friend" of the college. She invites Lyra to stay with her in London. Before Lyra leaves, the Master of the college entrusts her with her uncle's alethiometer, a compass-like artefact that reveals the truth (the titular golden compass). Few individuals can decipher its symbols. The Magisterium has seized or destroyed all other alethiometers, and Lyra is warned to keep hers a secret.

Lyra notices the alethiometer continuously points to a symbol of a lady, a lightning bolt, and an infant, though she is unable to comprehend its meaning. Soon, Mrs. Coulter's congenial manner changes and shows she is aligned to the Magisterium and its mandate. When Lyra casually mentions Dust, Mrs. Coulter sternly warns her to never mention it again.

Kidnappers called Gobblers have been snatching poor, orphaned, and Gyptian children, including Lyra's friends Roger, an Oxford servant boy, and Billy Costa, a young Gyptian. Lyra later discovers that Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board and realizes they are the "Gobblers."

When Mrs. Coulter's dæmon attempts to steal the alethiometer, Lyra and Pan escape with it into the streets. Gobblers pursue her, but she is saved by Ma Costa, Billy's mother. Lyra is taken to the Gyptian king, John Faa, whose ship is heading north to search for the captured children. A wise Gyptian elder named Farder Coram is able to decipher the compass.

After consulting with Magisterium agent Fra Pavel, Mrs. Coulter sends two mechanical spy-flies after Lyra. One is batted away but the other is caught and sealed in a can by Farder Coram, who says the spy-fly has a stinger filled with a sleeping poison. Meanwhile, Lord Asriel has reached Svalbard, the kingdom of the Ice Bears, but he is captured by Samoyed tribesmen hired by Mrs. Coulter.

The witch queen, Serafina Pekkala, tells Lyra the missing children are in an experimental station called Bolvangar. At a northern port, Lyra is befriended by a Texan aeronaut named Lee Scoresby. He advises her to hire him and his friend Iorek Byrnison, an armoured bear that Lee has come to rescue. Once a prince of the armoured bears, Iorek is now exiled in shame, the local townspeople having tricked him out of his armour. Lyra uses the alethiometer to locate Iorek's armour. After recovering it, Iorek joins the Gyptian trek northward, along with Scoresby.

Lyra, astride Iorek, goes to an abandoned building the alethiometer pointed her toward. There, Lyra finds Billy Costa, who has been surgically separated from his dæmon. The Gobblers are experimenting on the kidnapped children using a procedure called "intercision." Lyra reunites Billy with Ma Costa, but the group is attacked by Samoyeds, who capture Lyra. Iorek and Lee follow her in Lee's airship. Lyra is taken to the bear king Ragnar Sturlusson. Knowing Iorek will be outnumbered, Lyra tricks Ragnar into fighting Iorek one-on-one. Ragnar, who usurped Iorek's throne, initially appears to be winning; Iorek feigns weakness and kills Ragnar, avenging his father and regaining his kingdom.

Iorek carries Lyra to Bolvangar, but only Lyra crosses a narrow ice bridge before it collapses. Upon reaching the station, Lyra reunited with Roger. Lyra overhears Mrs. Coulter telling the station scientists that Asriel escaped and has set up a laboratory. Magisterium soldiers are going there to arrest him for heresy. Lyra discovers scientists are experimenting to sever a child from their dæmon. Caught spying, Lyra and Pan are thrown into the intercision chamber but Mrs. Coulter rescues her.

Mrs. Coulter tells Lyra that the Magisterium believe intercision protects children from Dust's corrupting influence. She reveals she is Lyra's mother but was forced to give her up; Lyra realises that Asriel is her father. When Mrs. Coulter wants the alethiometer, Lyra instead gives her the can containing the spy-fly. The fly stings Mrs. Coulter, rendering her unconscious. Lyra destroys the machine, setting off a series of explosions.

Outside, the fleeing children are attacked by Tatar mercenaries and their wolf dæmons. Iorek, Scoresby, the Gyptians and flying witches, led by Serafina, join the battle. The Tatars are defeated and the children rescued. Lyra, Roger, Iorek, Lee and Serafina fly north to search for Asriel. Confirming Serafina's prophecy of an upcoming war with Lyra at its centre, Lyra is determined to fight the Magisterium, who plot to control all the other worlds in the universe.

The cartoon follows a male and female bug/insect who check into a hotel which catches on fire.

''X-Men Legends'' is not set in any particular Marvel Comics universe. It is played from the perspective of a teenage girl named Alison Crestmere, a mutant with the ability to control volcanic activity. At the start of the game, Alison is abducted by the Genetic Research and Security Organization (GRSO). As GRSO soldiers take her away, Mystique arrives with Blob and takes Alison from the soldiers. She is in turn rescued from Mystique and Blob by the X-Men Wolverine and Cyclops, who take her to the Xavier Institute to explore her powers. As Alison trains, the X-Men investigate an Alaskan research facility being attacked by the Brotherhood of Mutants, then rescue Gambit from the Morlocks. They then try to stop the Brotherhood from rescuing Magneto from captivity aboard the U.S.S. Arbiter. Mystique is able to penetrate the defenses and free Magneto, and the ensuing damage caused by the Brotherhood leaves the X-Men to rescue several Arbiter crew members.

With Alison's training complete, she takes the codename Magma and the X-Men travel to Russia to help Colossus prevent the Brotherhood from obtaining weapons-grade plutonium. After accomplishing this mission, they discover that Colossus's sister, Illyana, is in a coma from a psychic hold placed on her by the Shadow King. Professor Xavier, Emma Frost, and Jean Grey enter the astral plane to save her. They succeed, but in the process Xavier is captured by the Shadow King. After Xavier's capture, the X-Men learn that General William Kincaid, a leader in the anti-mutant movement, is building mutant-hunting Sentinels. Magneto travels to his base on Asteroid M, where he reveals his plan to cover the Earth in darkness. Meanwhile, the X-Men free Xavier, who defeats the Shadow King in a psychic battle. The X-Men travel to Asteroid M, where they discover that the asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. After defeating Magneto, they search for the Gravitron, a device used to pilot the asteroid. They encounter General Kincaid, who pilots Master Mold, a larger and more powerful prototype Sentinel. After defeating General Kincaid, the X-Men locate the Gravitron, and Magma uses her powers to steer the asteroid back into space. The X-Men's victory on Asteroid M is watched by Apocalypse, who makes his upcoming plot from his base.

In the game's epilogue, a television news anchor reports that Magneto is still at large and General Kincaid has been arrested for crimes against humanity. The game ends with the President of the United States thanking the X-Men for their service.

Characters

Playable characters

• Beast
• Colossus
• Cyclops
• Emma Frost
• Gambit
• Iceman
• Jean Grey
• Jubilee
• Magma
• Nightcrawler
• Professor X
• Psylocke
• Rogue
• Storm
• Wolverine

Bosses

• Avalanche
• Blob
• Havok
• Juggernaut
• Magneto
• Marrow
• Master Mold
• Mystique
• Pyro
• Sabretooth
• Sentinels
• Shadow King
• Toad
• William Kincaid

Other Characters

• Bishop
• Forge
• Healer
• Illyana Rasputin
• Moira MacTaggert
• Multiple Man

When gathering herbs near the quarry in Mossflower Woods, the young Redwallers Tansy and Arven come across a mysterious skeleton among the rocks. They are disoriented in a rainstorm and after failing to return to the abbey before the breaking of the storm are rescued by Martin II, son of Mattimeo and grandson of Matthias. Tansy quickly leads curious Redwallers back to the quarry to examine the mysterious skeleton, and along the way, they meet two travellers: the irrepressible hare Cleckstarr Lepus Montisle and his owl friend Gerul.

Meanwhile, far across the western sea on the tropical isle of Sampetra, trouble is brewing. Ublaz Mad-Eyes, a large, sinewy pine marten with a hypnotic stare, gathers an army of barbaric monitor lizards and trident-wielding searats. The stoat captain Conva is sent out to retrieve the Tears of All Oceans, six perfectly spherical rose-pink pearls, but after murdering the Holt Lutra who owned the pearls, the Tears are stolen by the weasel Graylunk, who flees into Mossflower Woods. Conva tracks him to Redwall Abbey, where Graylunk takes refuge, before returning to Sampetra.

Ublaz is not pleased and murders Conva. He then sends out an elite force of monitor lizards, headed by their general Lask Frildur, to Mossflower to retrieve the pearls. They are escorted by the ferret captain Romsca and her crew.

However, the daughter of the Lutra chieftain is not dead. Far away on the western shores, Grath Longfletch, a strong female otter, was at the gates of the Dark Forest before being found by a pair of bankvoles, who nurse her back to health. The otter fashions a powerful bow and a quiver of green-fletched arrows, with which she planned on wreaking her revenge. She eliminates a longboat-crew of searats and then takes their boat southward into Mossflower, where she hopes to find the corsairs that slew her family.

Presently, Conva's brother Barranca discovers that Ublaz has killed his brother, and he begins hatching a plan to overthrow the pine marten and take the island for himself. With the fearsome Lask and his lizards gone to Mossflower, Barranca decides to seize his chance.

Back at Redwall, the old bankvole recorder Rollo determines that the skeleton in the quarry was Graylunk. He had become gravely injured in a fight with the weasel Flairnose, whom he killed, over the pearls before seeking safety at Redwall. There he befriended an old squirrel called Sister Fermald before he went off to die in the woods. Fermald, a clever, though senile old beast, had expertly hidden the pearls throughout the abbey before passing away several seasons ago. Tansy, Rollo, and Martin II, along with the hedgehog maid's friends Craklyn the squirrel and Piknim the mouse, begin a search for the six exquisite pearls. The Dibbun Arven and his two partners in crime, the moles Diggum and Gurrbowl, occasionally help in the search.

When Abbot Durral takes young Viola Bankvole for a stroll in Mossflower Woods, they are captured by Lask and his troops. Lask binds the Abbot and the bankvole and attempts to ransom them for the pearls at Redwall. However, the pearls have not yet been found, and Lask and his lizards take the two Redwallers back to their ship to be captives at Sampetra.

Martin, Clecky, Gerul, and the Skipper of Otters pursue the lizards through Mossflower, slaying several but failing to rescue the captives. Gerul and Skipper become wounded and are sent back to the Abbey, but the others chase the lizards to the western shore. There, they meet up with the GUOSSSIM and Grath Longfletch, who had caught sight of Romsca's ship, the ''Waveworm'', and attempted to pick off some of the vermin. Durral manages to help Viola get to safety on the shore, but the ship departs before he can escape. Viola is sent back to Redwall with two shrews to guide her, and Grath, Clecky, Martin, and the Log-a-Log's two sons use discarded vermin boats to form the ''Freebeast'', a double-outrigger vessel in which they pursue Lask to Sampetra. Viola, who has sneaked aboard, also ends up coming along.

On Sampetra, Barranca has been slain by Rasconza, a clever fox corsair who takes over the rebellion against Ublaz. Initial attempts at negotiation fail, due to the double-dealing of the pair, and when Ublaz tries to have Rasconza assassinated, Sampetra is plunged into all-out war. Ublaz's trident-rats, led by his general Sagitar, desert him and switch to Rasconza's side, but they are unable to take Ublaz's fortress, which is still held by his monitor lizards. Under siege, Ublaz decides to hold out until Lask Frildur returns with reinforcements.

In the search for the six pearls, the Redwaller friends slowly but surely find them all, though not without paying the price. The young mouse Piknim ends up being slain by the cruel jackdaws at St. Ninian's while searching for a pearl. The church is burnt down to prevent evil-doers from ever using it again (it had been used as a base by Redwall's enemies twice before in ''Redwall'' and ''Mattimeo''), and the search resumes, with all the pearls eventually being found.

Martin, Grath and their friends closely follow Romsca and Lask across the ocean, and end up meeting the otters of Holt Ruddaring along the way. Inbar Trueflight, another skilled otter archer, and the seal Hawm tag along on the quest.

On the ''Waveworm'', Durral is underfed and mistreated, but the ferret captain Romsca protects him from the fierce violence and hunger of Lask's cruel monitor lizards. Lask and Romsca, who had been at odds with one another since the beginning, finally battle on deck, with the forces of both being wiped out. Romsca ends up slaying Lask but is fatally injured in the process. Before dying, she gives the Abbot instructions on how to set the rudder to fix the ship toward Sampetra. As the last living creature aboard the ship, the old Abbot sails alone toward the evil isle. By the time the ship arrives, he is so weak from hunger and thirst that he is hallucinating; Ublaz, furious that the reinforcements he was waiting for are dead, takes the Abbot hostage.

When Martin, Clecky, Grath, Inbar, the shrews and Viola arrive on Sampetra, a battle ensues. Suspecting Sagitar and her trident-rats have betrayed him, Rasconza mortally wounds her, but she manages to kill him before dying herself, leaving the corsairs leaderless. Most of the monitor lizards and wave-vermin are killed, and Martin corners Ublaz alone in the caverns below his palace. They duel it out, but after wounding Martin, Ublaz accidentally steps on a poisonous coral snake (which he had hypnotised and kept as a pet to intimidate his enemies). The snake bites him, and he dies.

Durral is rescued and the warriors all return to Mossflower. They leave the island of Sampetra with no timber for ship building to force the vermin to learn to live in harmony with each other. Grath stays with Inbar at Holt Ruddaring, as the pair have fallen in love, but the others meet Tansy and her friends at the shore. The young hedgehog, realising the pearls lead only to greed and violence and bring nothing but misery and death to all who own them, casts them out into the sea to be forever lost. For her hard work, perseverance and aptitude, Tansy is made Abbess of Redwall to succeed old Durral. She becomes the first non-mouse abbot/abbess.

Tyler's 15th novel, like most of her work, is set in Baltimore, Maryland. It opens with the sentence, "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." The woman in question is Rebecca Davitch, a 53-year-old widow, mother, grandmother, and proprietor of a party and catering business run from her home called Open Arms. Up until age 20 Rebecca's life had been following a fairly predictable straight-line path towards both marriage to her high school sweetheart and a Ph.D. in history. Then Joe Davitch came along and she was “swept off my feet by a fully grown man, someone who...was already ''living'' his life.” Joe was a 33-year-old divorcee with 3 children whom Rebecca met at a friend’s party that happened to be at the Open Arms. One month later, Rebecca had quit college, had married Joe, and—as she quickly discovered—had married the Davitch family, with Joe’s 3 daughters, his mother, his brother Zeb, his huge old Baltimore house (Open Arms) and its business as a venue for celebrations of all sorts—weddings, graduations, christenings, anniversaries, etc. Before too long she also discovers that she has become the de facto manager of the Open Arms and the mother of Joe’s 3 girls and their own new baby daughter. When Joe himself dies after only 6 years of marriage and Joe’s uncle Poppy moves in, she finds herself with even more responsibility. Having cheerfully and exhaustingly raised four daughters, run the “celebrations business,” and helped her daughters through 6 marriages (+ 2 divorces) and 7 grandchildren, Rebecca is now taking a breath to ask, “What happened to the 20-year young woman who was a serious scholar, politically-involved idealist, engaged to be engaged….?”

At an engagement party for one of her stepdaughters, Rebecca finds herself questioning everything about her life, and decides to take steps to resurrect her former self. Her self-improvement project includes a visit to her hometown in Virginia, picking up old hobbies, reading books that she had read in college, and renewing her intellectual interests, without abandoning her many matriarchal and professional duties. She also eventually gets reacquainted with her old college/high school sweetheart. Will Allenby is a somewhat stodgy and constricted person (much as he was in college, way "back when they were grownups") and is now a divorced physics professor working at the same nearby college that they had both attended. While Rebecca is touched by certain remembrances and traits of Will, her fantasy of re-kindling their old affections is spoiled by his sad, staid and inflexible demeanor. Rebecca eventually realizes that the path that she chose (or chose her) decades ago may have resulted in her "right person" after all.

Johnny Walker (Mickey Rourke) is a down-and-out boxer with brain damage who has recently moved into a sea-side resort. He falls in love with Ruby (Debra Feuer), a carnival owner with whom he shares much in common. He also befriends Wesley Pendergrass (Christopher Walken), a corrupt promoter. Wesley and Johnny form a strong friendship, and it's clear that Johnny comes to idolize Wesley who wants to use Johnny as muscle in a robbery and asks for his help. Johnny has to choose between the love of Ruby or the friendship of Wesley.

Sabrina Fairchild is the young daughter of the Larrabee family's chauffeur, Thomas, and has been in love with David Larrabee all her life. David, a three-times-married non-working playboy, has never paid romantic attention to Sabrina. Since she has lived for years on the Larrabees' Long Island, New York, estate with her father, to him she is still a child.

Eavesdropping on a party at the mansion the night before she is to leave to attend the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Sabrina watches, follows, and listens as David entices yet another woman into a dark and vacant indoor tennis court. Distraught, she leaves her father a suicide note and then starts all eight cars in the closed garage in order to kill herself. She is passing out from the fumes when Linus, David's older brother, opens the door, discovers her, and carries her back to her quarters above the garage when she does pass out.

After two years in Paris, Sabrina returns home an attractive sophisticated woman. When her father is delayed from picking her up at the station, flirtatious David, passing by, offers her a lift without recognizing her. She accepts.

Once David realizes who she is, he is quickly drawn to Sabrina and invites her to join him at a party at the mansion, and then later invites her to the indoor tennis court. When Linus sees this, he fears that David's imminent marriage to Elizabeth Tyson may be endangered. If that engagement were broken it would ruin a profitable opportunity for a great corporate merger between Larrabee Industries and Elizabeth's very wealthy father's business. Instead of confronting David about his irresponsibility, Linus pretends to sympathize with him. Linus manipulates David to sit down on champagne glasses he has placed in his pockets, and David is incapacitated for a few days.

Linus now takes David's place with Sabrina on the pretext that “it’s all in the family.” Linus and Sabrina fall in love, though neither will admit it. Linus’s plan is to pretend to accompany Sabrina back to Paris on an ocean liner but then not join her on the ship, getting her away from David, the family, and the now-threatened merger. However, when Linus instead confesses these intentions to Sabrina, she is hurt but understands the logic of the tactic. She agrees to sail the next day to live in Paris, but without Linus's offered money and other inducements.

The following morning Linus has second thoughts, and decides to send David to Paris with Sabrina. This means calling off David's wedding with Elizabeth and the big Tyson deal, and Linus schedules a meeting of the Larrabee board to announce this. David doesn't sail, and enters the meeting room at the last minute. He shows that he will marry Elizabeth after all, and helps Linus recognize his own feelings for Sabrina by insulting her and letting Linus punch him in the face. Linus, who has already arranged a car and a tugboat to wait for David, assists him to rush off and joins Sabrina's ship before it leaves the harbor. Linus seeks out Sabrina on board after providing an inside-joke hint that he is there, and they sail away to Paris together.

Sabrina Fairchild is the young daughter of the Larrabee family's chauffeur, Thomas, and has been in love with David Larrabee all her life. David is a playboy, constantly falling in love, yet he has never noticed Sabrina, much to her dismay.

Sabrina travels to Paris for a fashion internship at ''Vogue'' and returns to the Larrabee estate as an attractive, sophisticated woman. David, after initially not recognizing her, is quickly drawn to her despite being newly engaged to Elizabeth Tyson, a doctor and billionaire.

David's workaholic older brother Linus fears that David's imminent wedding to the very suitable Elizabeth might be endangered. If the wedding were to be canceled, so would a lucrative merger with the bride's family business, Tyson Electronics, run by her father Patrick. This could cost the Larrabee Corporation, run by Linus and his mother Maude, over a billion dollars.

After Linus manipulates David into sitting on champagne glasses in his back pocket, resulting in injuries that require David to be on painkillers, Linus redirects Sabrina's affections to himself in order to keep David's wedding on track. Sabrina falls in love with Linus, even though she quotes others as calling him "the world's only living heart donor" and someone who "thinks that morals are paintings on walls and scruples are money in Russia."

In the process, Linus, surprising himself, also falls in love with Sabrina. Unwilling to admit his feelings, Linus confesses his scheme to Sabrina at the last minute and sends her back to Paris. Before she gets on the plane to Paris, her father informs her that over the years of chauffeuring the father of David and Linus, the partition was always open in the car and he was able to listen to Larrabee senior's business dealings. When Mr. Larrabee sold stock, the chauffeur would also sell and when Mr. Larrabee bought, the chauffeur would also buy. He then reveals that this has allowed him to amass a personal wealth of over $2 million although he continued to work as a chauffeur since he had a happy home and situation for the family. He is now able to give Sabrina the life he and her mother dreamed for her.

Meanwhile, Linus realizes his true feelings for Sabrina, and is induced to follow her to Paris by chiding from his mother and an unexpectedly adult and responsible David, who steps into his shoes at the Larrabee Corporation with detailed plans for the merger with Tyson. Linus arrives in Paris and reunites with Sabrina, revealing his love to her and kissing her.

Jeanne de Saint-Rémy de Valois, orphaned at an early age, is determined to reclaim her noble title and the home taken from her family when she was a child. When she is rebuffed by Marie Antoinette and fails to achieve her goal through legal channels, she joins forces with the arrogant, well-connected gigolo Rétaux de Villette and her own wayward, womanizing husband Nicholas. They concoct a plan to earn her enough money to purchase the property.

In 1772, King Louis XV had commissioned Parisian jewellers Boehmer & Bassenge to create an opulent , 647-diamond necklace to present to his mistress Madame du Barry, but the king died before it was completed. Hoping to recover the high cost of the necklace, its creators try to persuade Queen Marie Antoinette to purchase it. Knowing its history, she declines.

Jeanne approaches debauched libertine Cardinal Louis de Rohan and introduces herself as a confidante of the Queen. For years the Cardinal has yearned to regain the Queen's favor and acquire the position of Prime Minister of France, and when he is reassured by occultist Count Cagliostro that Jeanne is legitimate, he allows himself to be seduced by her promise to intervene on his behalf. He begins to correspond with the Queen and is unaware that his letters to her are intercepted and the Queen's responses are forgeries intended to manipulate him. The tone of the letters becomes very intimate. The cardinal becomes more and more convinced that Marie Antoinette is in love with him, and he becomes ardently enamored of her.

Jeanne allegedly arranges a meeting between the two in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. Portraying the Queen is Nicole Leguay d'Oliva, a prostitute bearing some resemblance to her. Heavily cloaked, with her face in the shadows, she agrees to forget their past disagreements. The Cardinal believes his indiscretions have been forgiven and he once again is in the Queen's good favor.

Jeanne advises the Cardinal the Queen has decided to purchase the necklace but, not wanting to offend the populace by openly buying such an expensive trinket, she wishes him to do so on her behalf, with a promise to reimburse him for the cost by the Feast of the Assumption. The Cardinal gladly agrees and presents the necklace to Rétaux de Villette, believing him to be an emissary from the Queen. Nicholas de Lamotte sells some of the diamonds, and Jeanne uses the profits to buy her family home.

The Cardinal begins to panic when Jeanne disappears and his correspondence with the Queen comes to an abrupt end. Nicholas is almost arrested for selling without proper certification, but he escapes. Jeanne advises him to not sell anymore diamonds in Paris. She sends correspondence to the jewelers, saying that Antoinette is no longer interested in the necklace and they must ask the Cardinal for reimbursement. However, Minister Breteuil comes upon an anxious Boehmer on his way to the Cardinal's estate. The Cardinal is invited to visit the palace on the Feast of the Assumption, at which time he assumes he will be repaid in full and named Prime Minister. Instead, King Louis XVI, who has been made aware of his machinations by Minister Breteuil, has him imprisoned in the Bastille. Soon to follow are everyone else involved in the plot, excluding Nicholas who fled to the border and into Austria. A trial finds the Cardinal, Count Cagliostro, and Nicole Leguay d'Oliva innocent of all charges. Rétaux de Villette is found guilty and banished from France. Jeanne is found guilty and whipped and branded before being imprisoned; she later escapes to London where she publishes her memoirs and regales the locals with her tales. Eventually, Marie Antoinette, assumed to be a key player in the affair by an increasingly angry and restless populace, meets her fate on the guillotine. Via an epilogue, Breteuil explains that Jeanne never returned to France as she died after falling from her hotel room window and was rumored to have been killed by Royalists.

Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) is an inner city Pittsburgh native; raised in an orphanage, he has delusions of grandeur, and talks about getting rich and driving a Porsche one day. Twenty-five years later, he drives a rusted MG Midget and all his ambitions revolve around a series of ill fated get-rich-quick schemes. A handshake loan of $5,000 from the loan sharks grows to $50,000 through interest and penalties, resulting in him trying to skip town at Pittsburgh International Airport.

He overhears a conversation between lawyer Gary Young (Phil Hartman) and his children, who are waiting to pick up his childhood friend, Derek Bond, who is now a successful, strait-laced and vegetarian dentist. Upon hearing him say that he has not seen Bond in twenty five years and does not know what he looks like, Franklin gives his baseball cap to the real Bond to throw off the two dimwitted mobsters (Tony Longo and Paul Ben-Victor) chasing him and poses as Bond to the Youngs, who take him to their posh home in Sewickley.

Although he knows nothing about dentistry, Franklin still manages to convince those around him that he is in fact Derek Bond, and his affable personality makes him popular with Young's otherwise stuffy and rich associates. Young has little time for his children and his wife (Kim Greist) who runs a chain of successful new frozen yogurt businesses, which gradually builds a gap between them, largely due to the demands of his bigoted, arrogant boss (Mason Adams) at the law firm where he works and their clients are a rival yogurt company that is Gary’s wife competition, this leads to Franklin developing a bond with Young's Goth daughter, helping her stand up to her cheating boyfriend; and his young son, who has aspirations of playing pro basketball. Young eventually stands up to his boss with Franklin's support and quits the firm to be with his family.

Meanwhile, the mob thugs threaten Franklin's best friend, Larry (Stan Shaw), into revealing his whereabouts, and Franklin asks him to pick him up. After he does so reluctantly, he sparks an argument with him over his lack of appreciation of friendship, causing him to realize that Young has been his friend all along. He returns to the Youngs' house only to find that the mobsters have taken them hostage, and his true identity is revealed when the real Derek Bond finally shows up.

After the mobsters take Franklin away, he manages to escape, losing them in a charity marathon, where he meets up with Young, who graciously decides to help him despite his charade, in return for helping bring his family closer together. Franklin reveals that he has an instant lottery ticket he purchased the previous day for a chance at a $1,000,000 cash prize spin on a Saturday night television show, which he reluctantly gives up to the mobsters in exchange for the forgiveness of his debt.

The film fast forwards to wintertime, Franklin parallel parks a shiny new red Porsche with Larry in tow, in front of the Youngs' house, appearing for a promotional party for his new best-seller book, ''Handbook for Houseguests'', based on his experiences with them. The partygoers gather in front of the television to watch the mobsters spin the wheel for the jackpot.

It initially lands on the million dollar jackpot, but then falls and lands on $5,000, much to the mafia don's dismay and Franklin's delight. During the closing credits, Young and Franklin sing a medley of food based parodies of Christmas songs, as they cook a barbecue in Youngs' backyard outside of a Christmas party.

In November 1963, Dallas housewife Lurene Hallett (Michelle Pfeiffer) is obsessed with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Lurene feels a special connection with Jackie through her own loss of a child. Knowing that President John F. Kennedy and his wife will be visiting Dallas, Lurene travels to Love Field Airport to try to catch a glimpse of the couple as they arrive by plane on November 22, 1963. Driving away a few hours later, she notices a quiet chaos developing, and discovers that the President has been assassinated. Lurene leaves her car in the middle of the street and rushes to watch the news through a store window. Lurene's anguish over Kennedy's death reflects the collective grief of the nation over this tragedy. Ignoring her overbearing husband, Ray (Brian Kerwin), she travels by bus to attend the funeral in Washington, D.C. Much to the chagrin of the black patrons on the bus, Lurene constantly discusses the assassination during the bus ride. During her journey, she befriends Jonell (Stephanie McFadden), the young black daughter of Paul Cater (Dennis Haysbert). After the bus has an accident, Lurene notices wounds on Jonell's body. Lurene senses something is wrong, suspects Paul and calls the FBI to report that there has been a kidnapping. Moments after her well-intentioned interference, Paul explains that Jonell's wounds are from an orphanage that he rescued her from and he is indeed her real father. Nevertheless, Lurene's FBI call leads the three of them on an increasingly difficult road trip across America with both the police and Ray in pursuit. During the film, Lurene and Paul develop a deep relationship, leading to a one-night sexual encounter. The police eventually catch the pair, and Paul is sentenced to a year in jail.

The film then flashes forward to 1964 (as indicated by a Lyndon Johnson-Hubert Humphrey campaign poster attached to a tree) to show Lurene visiting Jonell in a foster home where she has been staying. Evidently, Lurene has been visiting Jonell regularly. In one scene, Lurene explains to Jonell that her father is coming back to take her home later that day. As Lurene leaves the group home, Paul arrives to pick up Jonell. They stop to talk and Lurene informs Paul that she and Ray are divorced. Paul and Lurene hug and Lurene drives away. However, Lurene turns her car around and rushes back into the group home to join Paul and Jonell.

After losing their jobs as security guards, best friends Ivan (John Cusack) and Josh (Tim Robbins) start a music video production company called "Video Aces". When they meet their childhood heroes, 1970s soul duo ''Swanky Modes'' (Sam Moore and Junior Walker), Ivan and Josh concoct a scheme to give them a new audience by hijacking a Menudo concert, getting them to perform in Menudo's place, and broadcasting it live across the country on a television satellite hook-up.

The movie also features a fake ad spot for a real Los Angeles restaurant, Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles. Notable appearances in the film include: Mary Crosby, of the soap opera ''Dallas''; character actors Clu Gulager and Doug McClure; footballer Lyle Alzado; 1960s actress Connie Stevens; ''Soul Train'' host Don Cornelius; singer Courtney Love; Navasota singer King Cotton; original "Human Beat-Box" Doug E. Fresh; ska-punk band Fishbone (who also perform the incidental score) as "Ranchbone"; The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church singer Stiv Bators; Ted Nugent; "Weird Al" Yankovic; and Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, in a cameo as an FBI agent.

Jason "Igby" Slocumb Jr. (Kieran Culkin) is a misanthropic 17-year-old boy, rebelling against the oppressive world of his strict East Coast "old money" family. His schizophrenic father, Jason (Bill Pullman), has been committed to an institution. Igby fears that he will eventually suffer a mental breakdown like his father. His mother, Mimi (Susan Sarandon), is self-absorbed and distant and tends drink heavily. Igby mockingly describes his ambitious older brother Ollie (Ryan Phillippe) as a fascist or a Young Republican, and that he studies "neo-fascism" (economics) at Columbia University.

Igby figures that there must be a better life out there, and he sets out to find it, rebelling against his family at every opportunity. After happily flunking out of several prep schools, he ends up in a brutal military academy where he gets beaten by his classmates. After escaping and spending time in a Chicago hotel courtesy of his mother's credit card, Igby is sent to New York for the summer to stay with his godfather, successful real estate magnate D. H. Banes (Jeff Goldblum).

While working construction for D. H., Igby first encounters Rachel (Amanda Peet), his godfather's Edie Sedgwick-influenced, heroin-addicted trophy mistress. Rather than return to school, he escapes into the bohemian underworld of Manhattan, hiding out with Rachel and her performance artist friend Russel (Jared Harris) at her studio owned by D. H. Eventually, he and Rachel have sex. After being found at the studio by D. H. and getting beaten up by Rachel for jeopardizing her living arrangements, he hooks up with terminally bored, part-time lover, Sookie (Claire Danes), only for her to later leave him for Ollie.

Despite seeming cold and distant, Mimi is not unaffected by her rebellious son. She describes Igby's conception as an act of animosity and therefore believes that it shouldn't be a surprise that his life follows the same course. His name is explained as a family in-joke. As a child, he would blame his toy bear, Digby, for things he had done only he was mispronouncing it as "Igby". To get him to take responsibility for his actions, his family would call him Igby whenever he lied.

Igby is informed by D. H. that his mother Mimi is dying from breast cancer and so he returns to see her. She asks Igby to be present for her death. She has arranged to commit suicide with help from Ollie, who feeds her drug-laden strawberry yogurt before ultimately placing a plastic bag over her head.

Before she dies, Mimi makes a final revelation, casually inquiring of Igby, "I take it you know that D. H. is your father?" Igby visits his father Jason in the hospital before leaving for Los Angeles to finally make a clean break by getting 3,000 miles away from his family.

Don and friends Cyril, Steve and Edwin are bus mechanics at the huge London Transport bus overhaul works in Aldenham, Hertfordshire. During a miserably wet British summer lunch break, Don arrives, having persuaded London Transport to lend him and his friends an AEC Regent III RT double-decker bus. They convert the bus into a holiday caravan, which they drive across continental Europe, intending to reach the South of France. On the way, they are joined by a trio of young women Sandy, Angie and Mimsie, who are a singing group Do-Re-Mi, and change their destination to Athens in Greece, which means passing through Yugoslavia. They are also joined by a runaway singer Barbara pretending to be a boy, herself being pursued by her mother Stella and agent Jerry.

Aubrey meets the mysterious Lord Ruthven at a social event when he comes to London. After briefly getting to know Ruthven, Aubrey agrees to go travelling around Europe with him, but leaves him shortly after they reach Rome when he learns that Ruthven seduced the daughter of a mutual acquaintance. Alone, he travels to Greece where he falls in love with an innkeeper's daughter, Ianthe. She tells him about the legends of the vampire, which are very popular in the area.

This romance is short-lived as Ianthe is unfortunately killed, found with her throat torn open. The whole town believes it to be the work of the evil vampire. Aubrey does not make the connection that this coincidentally happens shortly after Lord Ruthven comes to the area. Aubrey makes up with him and rejoins him in his travels, which becomes his undoing. The pair are attacked by bandits on the road and Ruthven is mortally wounded. On his deathbed, Ruthven makes Aubrey swear an oath that he will not speak of Ruthven or his death for a year and a day, and once Aubrey agrees, Lord Ruthven literally dies laughing.

Aubrey returns to London and is amazed when Ruthven appears shortly thereafter, alive and well and living under a new identity. Ruthven reminds Aubrey of his oath and then begins to seduce Aubrey's sister. Helpless to protect his sister, Aubrey has a nervous breakdown. Upon recovering, Aubrey learns that Ruthven is engaged to his sister, and they are due to be married on the day his oath will end. He writes a letter to his sister explaining everything in case something happens to him before he can warn her in person. Aubrey does in fact die, and his letter does not arrive in time. Ruthven marries Aubrey's sister, and kills her on their wedding night, found drained of blood with Ruthven long gone into the night.

In 1959, Michael Courtland, a New Orleans real estate developer, has his life shattered when his youthful wife Elizabeth and his little daughter Amy are abducted. The police recommend he provide the kidnappers with a briefcase of plain paper cut into dollars instead of the demanded ransom, as the kidnappers will then be more likely to surrender when cornered rather than flee with cash. Courtland accepts this plan, occasioning a bungled car chase and a spectacular explosion in which the kidnappers and victims perish. Courtland blames himself for his family's passing.

Sixteen years later, in 1975, Courtland is obsessed with his late wife and often visits a monument he has had built in her memory, a replica of the church (the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte) in Florence, Italy where the two of them first met. His business partner Robert LaSalle convinces Courtland to tag along on a work trip to Florence. While there, Courtland revisits the church and finds a young woman named Sandra who resembles his late wife. The already slightly unhinged Courtland begins to court Sandra and subtly attempts to transform her into Elizabeth's duplicate.

Courtland returns to New Orleans with Sandra so they can marry. On their wedding night, Sandra is kidnapped and a note left by her abductors that is a replica of the kidnappers' message sixteen years ago. This time, Courtland decides to deliver the ransom though it will drive him to ruin, withdrawing massive amounts from his accounts and holdings and signing over his interest in the real estate business to LaSalle. This leads him to the discovery that everything, including the original kidnapping, had been engineered by LaSalle to control Courtland's shares. The now nearly insane Courtland stabs LaSalle to death.

Knowing Sandra must have been an accomplice in the plot, he goes to the airport to kill her. Before boarding the plane, it is revealed in a flashback that Sandra is Courtland's daughter Amy. Following the original kidnapping, LaSalle concealed Amy's survival and sent her to dwell in secret with an Italian caretaker who raised her as her own and named her Sandra. Down the years, LaSalle deceived Sandra about Courtland, convincing her Courtland failed to furnish the ransom as he did not love her enough. Sandra, who has come to love Courtland, attempts suicide on the plane and departs the flight in a wheelchair. Courtland sees and runs at her, gun drawn. A security guard attempts to halt him, but Courtland stuns the staff with the money-laden briefcase, spilling its contents. Sandra, sighting fluttering bills, stands and shouts: "Daddy! You brought the money!" Courtland apprehends at last Sandra's identity, and father and daughter embrace.

The story follows the life of Ryunosuke Tsukue (Tatsuya Nakadai), an amoral samurai and a master swordsman with an unorthodox style. Ryunosuke is first seen when he kills an elderly Buddhist pilgrim who he finds praying for death. He appears to have no feeling. Later, he kills an opponent in self-defense in a fencing competition that was intended to be non-lethal, but became a duel after he raped his opponents wife in exchange for throwing the match and allowing her husband to win. His opponent finds out about the rape prior to the match, and is shown giving his wife a notice of divorce. His rage at Ryunosuke during the match causes him to take an illegal lunging attack after the judge proclaims a draw, and Ryunosuke, the better swordsman, parries and kills him with one stroke of his bokken. Ryunosuke flees town after killing the man, and cuts down many of the dead opponent's clansmen who attack him as he is leaving. His opponent's ex-wife asks to go along with him.

Two years pass, and in order to make a living, Ryunosuke joins the Shinsengumi, a sort of semi-official police force made up of rōnin that supports the Tokugawa shogunate through murder and assassinations. Through all his interactions, whether killing a man or at home with his mistress and their baby son, Ryunosuke rarely shows any emotion. His expression is fixed in a glassy stare that suggests a quiet insanity.

Eventually Ryunosuke learns that the younger brother of the man he killed in the fencing match is looking for him, intent on revenge. He plans to meet this young man and kill him, but before the duel can take place, two events occur that shake his confidence. In a botched assassination attempt, he sees another master swordsman, Shimada Toranosuke (Toshiro Mifune), in action, and for the first time he doubts that his own skill is truly unbeatable. That same night, Ryunosuke's mistress, horrified by his unremitting evil, tries to kill him in his sleep. He kills her in the gardens, to the ominous cries of their sleeping child inside the house, and flees without keeping his appointment to duel with his pursuer. Later he rejoins the gang of assassins at an oiran house (courtesan brothel) in the Shimabara district of Kyoto. There, in a quiet (and he is told, haunted) room, he starts seeing the ghosts of all the people he has killed. Further, he is haunted by the words of Shimada: "The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword." The final blow comes when he realizes that the apprentice oiran sent to entertain him is the granddaughter of the pilgrim he murdered at the film's beginning.

With this realization, Ryunosuke appears to descend into complete insanity. He starts slashing at the shadows of the ghosts that surround him, and then begins attacking his fellow assassins, who seem to number in the hundreds. Ryunosuke kills dozens of gang members in the burning courtesan house as they gradually wear him down with what few wounds they can inflict. Finally it appears that Ryunosuke will surely be killed; bleeding, his face contorted in rage, he lurches forward, raises his sword one last time, and the film ends with a freeze-frame catching Ryunosuke in mid sword-slash.

Car delivery driver Kowalski arrives in Denver, Colorado, on a late Friday night with a black Imperial. The delivery service clerk Sandy urges him to get some rest, but Kowalski insists on getting started with his next assignment to deliver a white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Magnum (supposedly supercharged) to San Francisco by Monday. Before leaving Denver, Kowalski pulls into a biker bar parking lot around midnight to buy Benzedrine pills to stay awake for the long drive ahead. He bets his dealer Jake that he will get to San Francisco by 3:00 pm Sunday, even though the delivery is not due until Monday.

Through flashbacks and the police reading of his record, we learn that Kowalski is a Medal of Honor Vietnam War veteran, former racecar driver, and motorcycle racer. He is also a former police officer.

Driving west across Colorado, Kowalski is pursued by two motorcycle police officers who try to stop him for speeding. He forces one officer off the road and eludes the other officer by jumping across a dry creek bed. Later, the driver of a Jaguar E-Type roadster

pulls up alongside Kowalski and challenges him to a race. After the Jaguar driver nearly runs him off the road, Kowalski overtakes him and beats the Jaguar to a one-lane bridge, causing the Jaguar to crash into the river. Kowalski checks to see if the driver is okay, then takes off, with police cars in pursuit.

Kowalski drives across Utah and into Nevada, with the police unable to catch him. During the pursuit, Kowalski listens to radio station KOW (as of 2011, KGFN 89.1), which is broadcasting from Goldfield, Nevada. A blind black disc jockey at KOW, who goes by the name of Super Soul, listens to the police radio frequency and encourages Kowalski to evade the police. Super Soul seems to understand Kowalski and seems to see and hear Kowalski's reactions. With the help of Super Soul, who calls Kowalski "the last American hero", Kowalski gains the interest of the news media, and people begin to gather at the KOW radio station to offer their support.

During the police chase across Nevada, Kowalski finds himself surrounded and heads into the desert. After he blows a left front tire and becomes lost, Kowalski is helped by an old prospector who catches rattlesnakes for a Pentecostal Christian commune. After Kowalski is given fuel, the old man directs him back to the highway. There, he picks up two homosexual hitchhikers stranded en route to San Francisco with a "Just Married" sign in their rear window. When they attempt to hold him up at gunpoint, Kowalski throws them out of the car and continues on his journey.

Saturday afternoon, a vengeful off-duty highway patrolman and a group of thugs break into the KOW studio and assault Super Soul and his engineer. Near the California state line, Kowalski is helped by hippie biker Angel, who gives him pills to help him stay awake. Angel's girlfriend, who rides a motorcycle nude, recognizes Kowalski and shows him a collage she made of newspaper articles about his police career. Kowalski suspects that Super Soul's broadcast is now being directed by the police to entrap him. Confirming that the police are indeed waiting at the border, Angel helps Kowalski get through the roadblock with the help of an old air raid siren and a small motorbike with a red headlight strapped to the top of the Challenger, simulating a police car. Kowalski finally reaches California by Saturday at 7:12 pm. He calls Jake from a payphone to reassure him that he still intends to deliver the car on Monday, while acknowledging he won't win their bet, and offering to double it for the next time.

On Sunday morning, California police, who have been tracking Kowalski's movements on an electronic wall-map, set up a roadblock with two bulldozers in the small town of Cisco, which Kowalski will be passing through. A small crowd gathers, some with cameras. Kowalski approaches at high speed; failing to slow down, he smiles as he crashes into the bulldozers, destroying the car in an explosion. As firemen work to put out the flames, the crowd slowly disperses.

During 1904, Morocco is the source of conflict among the colonial powers of Germany, France, and the British Empire. Each nation is trying to establish a sphere of influence in that country. Mulai Ahmed el Raisuli is the leader of a band of Berber insurrectionists opposed to the young Sultan Abdelaziz and his uncle, the Bashaw (Pasha) of Tangier. Raisuli considers the Bashaw to be corrupt and beholden to the Europeans. He kidnaps the American Eden Pedecaris and her children, William and Jennifer, in a raid on their home. Sir Joshua Smith, a British friend of Eden's, is killed during the raid. Raisuli then issues an outrageous ransom demand, deliberately attempting to provoke an international incident in order to embarrass the Sultan and start a civil war.

In the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt is seeking re-election. He decides to use the kidnapping as both political propaganda (coining the phrase "Pedecaris alive or Raisuli dead!") and as an effort to demonstrate America's military strength as a new great power, despite the protests of his cautious Secretary of State, John Hay.

The American Consul to Tangier, Samuel Gummeré, is unable to negotiate a peaceful return of the hostages. In response, Roosevelt sends the South Atlantic Squadron, under the command of Admiral French Ensor Chadwick, to Tangier, either to retrieve Pedecaris or to force the Sultan to accede to Raisuli's demands. Roosevelt finds himself gaining more and more respect for Raisuli, thinking him an honorable man who just happens to be his enemy.

The Pedecarises are kept as hostages in the Rif, far from any potential rescuers. Though her children seem to admire Raisuli, Eden finds him "a brigand and a lout". The Pedecarises attempt an escape, helped by one of Raisuli's men, but they are betrayed and given to a gang of desert brigands. Luckily, Raisuli has tracked them and kills the kidnappers with a rifle and sword. He reveals that he does not have any intention of harming the Pedecarises and is merely bluffing. Eden and Raisuli come to develop a friendly relationship as Raisuli reveals his story, that he was once taken captive by his brother, the Bashaw, and kept in a dungeon for several years.

Gummeré, Chadwick, and his aide, Marine Captain Jerome, tire of the Sultan's perfidy and the meddling of the European powers. They decide to engage in "military intervention" to force a negotiation by seizing the actual seat of power, the Bashaw's palace in Tangier. Jerome's company of Marines, supported by a detachment of sailors, march through the streets of Tangier, much to the surprise of the European legations, whose forces are with the Sultan at distant Fez. They overwhelm the Bashaw's palace guard, taking the Bashaw hostage and forcing him to negotiate.

Under coercion, the Bashaw finally agrees to accede to the Raisuli's demands. But during a hostage exchange, Raisuli is betrayed and captured by German and Moroccan troops under the command of von Roerkel. Jerome and a small contingent of Marines are present to secure Pedecaris and her children. Raisuli's friend, the Sherif of Wazan, organizes the Berber tribe for an attack on the Europeans and Moroccans, while Eden suddenly attacks Jerome. She convinces him and his men at gunpoint to rescue Raisuli to uphold the word of President Roosevelt that Raisuli will be unharmed if the Pedecaris family are returned safely.

A three-way battle ensues, in which the Berbers and Americans team up to defeat the Germans and their Moroccan allies, rescuing Raisuli in the process. In the United States, Roosevelt is cheered for this great victory, and the Pedecarises arrive safely back in Tangier. Later, Roosevelt reads a letter he received from Raisuli, comparing the two men: "I (Raisuli), like the lion, must remain in my place, while you, like the wind, will never know yours".

The story is set in an unspecified city in the North of England, though it was shot in and around Manchester, during a period in which local left-wing councils are vying for increased autonomy from the Thatcher government. Michael Murray, an aggressive, womanising Labour councillor, returns to his old primary school and burns copies of school records which describe an event that almost caused him to be committed to a juvenile offenders' institution. He intimidates the elderly headmaster, Mr Weller, and dispatches him to a rural, lower-status special needs school run by the popular headteacher Jim Nelson. Murray meets with three members of the Militant Tendency far-left politician Lou Barnes, academic Mervyn Sloane and 'fixer' Peter Grenville, who persuade him to call a general strike to protest against the government's policies.

Due to the incompetence of Murray's supporters, Nelson's school is not picketed and remains open, making it a focus for journalists, including tabloid writer 'Bubbles' McGuire, eager to discredit the strike. Murray tries to coerce Nelson, a moderate Labour member, into joining the strike. When this fails, criminal thugs hired by Grenville besiege the school and terrorise the children. Over the next few months, Nelson's school is picketed and his family are harassed at their home. Already a hypochondriac, Nelson develops a collection of neuroses under stress, including an inability to drive his car over bridges. However, his neighbours remain sympathetic and he is assured by a local farmer, Mr Burns, that the majority of traditional socialists in the area will defend him against the militants.

Conflicted between his ambition and his conscience, Murray encounters a wealthy woman named Barbara Douglas, who appears to admire him despite his crude manners. At the same time, he receives a taunting letter purporting to be from Eileen Critchley, the victim of his unspecified childhood crime, which drives him into hysterics. The letter has, in fact, been delivered secretly by Barbara. Murray's elder brother and chauffeur, Franky, grows tired of his arrogance and kicks him out of the car, leaving him stranded by the side of the road. Isolated and humiliated, Murray becomes more paranoid and unstable. He starts to develop a repertoire of involuntary tics and spasms which become increasingly difficult to conceal.

Barbara unsuccessfully tries to trick Weller into handing over his copies of Murray's school file. Weller suspects something is happening and delivers the file to Nelson for safekeeping. Meanwhile, Nelson's pacifist composure is beginning to crack: when menaced by a drunken skinhead, he suddenly chases the man down in his car before being stopped by his wife. When Murray visits Nelson's school again and attempts to wheedle him into compliance, Nelson punches him. Murray and Grenville then instigate a militant takeover of Nelson's local Labour branch, aiming to have him expelled from the party.

More letters from Eileen arrive. Unknown to Murray, they are part not only of a personal vendetta, but also of a conspiracy consisting of Barbara, Barnes and Grenville aimed at destabilising him. Hoping to provoke riots across the city, Barnes and Grenville arrange for a series of racist assaults on ethnic minorities. Meanwhile, Murray's suspicious wife searches for him in the hotel where he entertains his mistresses, reducing him to a nervous wreck. Needing more time to gather evidence against Murray, the conspirators order Barbara to calm him down by seducing him, which she does. Murray temporarily regains his sanity after his tryst and addresses community representatives over the riots. To the dismay of the plotters, he addresses the meeting with surprising skill and persuades the audience to refrain from vigilantism. Joining the plotters, Barbara admits that she enjoyed her liaison with him.

Nelson's family go on holiday and stays in a hotel run by Grosvenor, an impoverished aristocrat. On privately discovering Nelson's neuroses, he becomes sympathetic; the two men vent their frustrations over the collapse of English decency. Meanwhile, the plotters search the Nelsons' house for the file, only to discover that Nelson has taken it with him on holiday. In a meeting with McGuire, Barnes and Grenville reveal that they are in fact intelligence agents who have infiltrated Labour in order to root out the militants. Having discovered that the genuine hard-left had apparently withered, they have resorted to gaslighting Murray and staging the riots to discredit and destabilise the opposition. Grenville's brother (another of the conspirators) attempts to retrieve the file from the Nelsons' holiday home, but is discovered by Nelson, who suspects that he was sent by Murray and beats him with a tennis racket. Posing as CID police officers, the plotters then raid the holiday home and retrieve the file.

Returning home, Nelson appears at his local Labour branch, to defend himself against charges made by the conspirators of working against the party. Driven by guilt, Murray makes an oblique and faltering private attempt to reconcile himself with Nelson, but is furiously rebuffed. Greville's thugs find themselves outnumbered by both the local members and the Labour-supporting farmers, who show up in support for Nelson; the motion for Nelson's expulsion is rejected. Meanwhile an arrest warrant is issued against Murray for inciting the riots. Barbara is revealed to be the younger sister of Eileen, the girl who victimised Murray during their childhood. Having had a morbid fascination with death during her girlhood, Eileen once cajoled the young Murray into choking her—the secret that Murray has been trying to hide. Eileen eventually killed herself. After a lifetime of vengeful feelings towards Murray, Barbara finally accepts that he was a victim.

In recompense, Barbara helps Murray to secretly record a conversation in which the plotters admit their intention to provoke riots. She leaves him a recording of the confession, as well as revealing the information absolving him of any guilt about Eileen. Murray abandons his ambitions and resigns himself to his political fate, allowing Barbara to deliver him to the police. However, as she parts company with Barnes, Barbara reveals that his attempts to prevent the recording were unsuccessful. As Murray faces his fate, the Nelsons look to the future, still ignorant of much of what has happened beyond their own immediate lives. Nelson manages to drive his car across the bridge which had previously defeated him.

The main character, an unnamed man, has been dropped off at Frank Martin's alcohol rehabilitation center by his girlfriend, not to be confused with his wife. After arriving he encounters Joe Penny ("J.P") who starts telling him his story. J.P. is a chimney sweep drunk whose father-in-law and brother-in-law recently dropped him off at Frank Martin's as well. J.P. tells the story of how he met his wife, Roxy, one afternoon at a friend's house. She was a chimney sweep who asked to kiss J.P.’s friend when she was done cleaning his chimney. J.P. asked for a kiss as well. J.P dated Roxy, married her, and they have two children. As J.P. continues his story it becomes about how alcohol has ruined his marriage to his wife. Roxy comes to visit J.P. The story ends with the main character contemplating calling his wife or calling his girlfriend. The story title comes from the last few lines where he says:

I won't raise my voice. Not even if she starts something. She'll ask me where I'm calling from, and I'll have to tell her. I won't say anything about New Year's resolutions. There’s no way to make a joke out of this. After I talk to her, I’ll call my girlfriend. Maybe I’ll call her first. I’ll just have to hope I don’t get her kid on the line. “Hello, sugar,” I’ll say when she answers. “It’s me."

Bart purchases a miniature spy camera from a mail-order catalog and uses it to take candid photos around the house. Later, Homer tells Marge he is going to a bachelor party for a co-worker, Eugene Fisk. While Homer is gone, Marge decides to take the children to a seafood restaurant where — unknown to her — the bachelor party is under way in another room.

A belly dancer named Princess Kashmir arrives at the party and invites Homer to dance with her onstage. On his way to the bathroom, Bart wanders into the bachelor party and snaps a picture of Homer and Princess Kashmir dancing. Bart brings the photo to school and gives a copy to Milhouse, who promptly gets requests for copies from other students. Soon everyone in Springfield has a copy. Marge sees the picture at her aerobics class and is furious. When Homer arrives home later that day, Marge demands an explanation. Bart inadvertently reveals that the picture is his, angering both his parents. Homer spends the night at Barney's apartment after Marge kicks him out of the house.

The next day, Homer goes home to apologize to Marge, who worries the picture will make Bart think it is acceptable to treat women as sex objects. She insists that Homer take Bart to meet Princess Kashmir so he can see that she is more than just a stripper. Homer and Bart scour Springfield's strip clubs searching for Princess Kashmir, eventually finding her at the Sapphire Lounge.

Homer introduces himself and Bart to Princess Kashmir, who is preoccupied with her upcoming performance but understands what Homer is trying to teach his son. Homer inadvertently finds himself onstage when the striptease show starts. He is about to be thrown offstage when the audience recognizes him from the picture. Homer gets caught up in the audience's fanfare and starts dancing with the showgirls until he remembers the lesson he is trying to teach Bart. Homer stops the show and makes a plea to the audience to treat women with respect. Marge, who is in the audience, accepts Homer's apology and they reconcile.

A young government official named Dondup (played by Tshewang Dendup) who is smitten with United States (he even has a denim gho) dreams of escaping there while stuck in a beautiful but isolated village. He hopes to connect in the U.S. embassy with a visa out of the country. He misses the one bus out of town to Thimphu, however, and is forced to hitchhike and walk along the Lateral Road to the west, accompanied by an apple seller, a Buddhist monk with his ornate, dragon-headed dramyin heading to Thimphu, a drunk, a widowed rice paper maker and his daughter Sonam (played by Sonam Lhamo).

To pass the time, the monk tells the tale of Tashi, a restless farmboy who, like Dondup, dreams of escaping village life. Tashi rides a horse that goes into a forest. He immediately becomes lost in remote mountains and finds his life entwined with that of an elderly hermit woodcutter and his beautiful young wife. Tashi's wish of escape granted, he finds himself caught in a web of lust and jealousy, enchanted by the beautiful and yielding wife, but fearing the woodsman and his axe. Tashi finally tries to murder the woodcutter, aided by his wife who is pregnant by Tashi. He runs away, however, while the old man is near death, burdened by his guilt. Deki, the woodcutter's wife calls and runs after him, but drowns in a mountain river while giving pursuit.

Tashi's adventures finally turn out to be hallucinations induced by chhaang, a home-brewed liquor. The monk's tale merely parallels Dondup's growing attraction to Sonam. During a dilemma similar to Tashi's, Dondup manages to hitch a ride to Thimphu. The film ends without showing the final outcome of Dondup's journey - his visa interview and his trip abroad. The audience is left to wonder whether the trip changed his attitude toward the village and Bhutan, and if he returned to the village.

The narrator, a writer for a literary newspaper, prides himself on his astute review of Hugh Vereker's latest novel. Vereker inadvertently dismisses his efforts, and then to repair his incivility, confides in the narrator that all critics have "missed my little point," "the particular thing I've written my books most for," "the thing for the critic to find," "my secret," "like a complex figure in a Persian carpet." The narrator racks his brains and, in desperation, tells his friend Corvick about the puzzle. Corvick and his novelist fiancée, Gwendolen, pursue "the trick" without success until Corvick, traveling alone in India, wires Gwendolen and the narrator "Eureka! Immense." He refuses to tell Gwendolen the secret until they are married, and then dies in an accident. Since Gwendolen refuses to share her knowledge, the narrator speculates, "the figure in the carpet [was] traceable or describable only for husbands and wives—for lovers supremely united." She remarries, and after her death, the narrator approaches her new husband to discover the secret. But the widowed husband is surprised and humiliated by the news of his late wife's great "secret," and he and the narrator conclude by sharing the same curiosity.

Bart wants the new video game ''Bonestorm'', but Marge refuses to buy it because it is too violent, expensive and distracts children from their school work. Unable to rent it or play Milhouse's copy, Bart visits the local Try-N-Save discount store, where Jimbo Jones and Nelson Muntz convince him to steal a copy. Bart is caught by security guard Detective Don Brodka, who calls Homer and Marge, but leaves a message because they are not home. Detective Brodka orders him to leave the store and never come back. He threatens Bart by telling him he will face criminal charges and spend the holidays in juvenile hall if he returns to his store again. Bart rushes home and successfully intercepts the message by switching out the answering machine tape with Allan Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah."

Unaware of Bart's crime, Marge takes the family to the same store to get their annual Christmas picture taken. Bart is spotted by Detective Brodka, who shows a disbelieving Marge and Homer the security footage of their son shoplifting. Bart tries to apologize to Marge, but she rebuffs him and sends him to bed. Concerned she may be mothering Bart too much, Marge decides he is old enough to make his own decisions and bans Bart from family activities as punishment for his misdemeanor, such as making snow statues and decorating the Christmas tree. Worried he has lost Marge's love, Bart convinces Milhouse's mother, Luann, to spend time with him.

To regain his mother's love, Bart shops at Try-N-Save and returns home with a bulge in his coat. Thinking he has shoplifted again, Marge confronts Bart, who reveals he bought a Christmas present for her: a photo of himself. Overjoyed at getting this early Christmas gift, Marge gives Bart his present: the golf simulator video game ''Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge''. Though underwhelmed, Bart thanks her and they reconcile.

''Boy in Darkness'' is an episode in the Gormenghast series when Titus Groan, referred to as "the Boy" in the story, is a young teenager – placing it during the period covered by the second novel in the series, ''Gormenghast''. Yearning for freedom from his ceaseless duties as 77th Earl of Gormenghast, he escapes the ancient castle and encounters the nightmare world outside.

The first story in the game is a self-referential story of how the King of All Cosmos is reacting to the unexpected success of ''Katamari Damacy''. After completing his goal to recreate the stars in the sky, the King of All Cosmos was surprised to discover that he had many fans down on Earth. King of All Cosmos seeks to help fulfill the wishes of his fans—with the help from his son and his son's cousins, who again travel Earth, rolling things up into a Katamari.

The second story tells the life of King of All Cosmos before becoming King. His father always pushed his son to go further and punished the future King whenever he failed a task. In his early life, he was a boxer. After losing first place in a boxing tournament, the Emperor throws his son's second-place trophy into the river out of disappointment. At some undisclosed time, after an argument concerning a strawberry shortcake, the future King runs away from home and gets into fights with street punks who in one altercation slice off the front of his pompadour haircut. The dejected future king bumps into a woman and they fall in love at first sight.

The future King's father lectures. In frustration and anger, the son lashes out, knocking his father to the ground. The king walks away without any further dispute, confusing the future king. Later that evening, the future king spies his father deep in thought, staring at the second-place boxing trophy. Recalling the incident from his childhood, and imagining his father fish the trophy back out of the river, he realizes the love underlying his father's stern exterior all these years. He bursts into the room, crying, and kneels before his father to beg forgiveness. The father places a hand on his son's head and supports the future King's relationship with his future wife. After this reconciliation, all is well between the Emperor, the son, and his fiancée. But soon afterward, the Emperor falls ill. The Emperor crowns his son as the new King of All Cosmos and collapses shortly after.

At a later undisclosed time, the King is now a grown man, pacing back and forth in a waiting room. Suddenly, he hears the sound of a baby crying in the delivery room, as he rushes to investigate, and a nurse appears from a doorway to call him. Later, the King and the Queen are then shown happily looking down at their son, the Prince of All Cosmos, newly born and wrapped in a blanket, the character that the player controls during the game.

The show's teaser, set June 25, 1876, depicts an army scout, a sergeant and a trooper finding evidence of Indians. An arrow strikes the scout in the back while the regular soldiers fire their carbines at an unseen foe. The time jumps ahead to the present, June 25, 1964, the 88th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Three United States Army National Guard soldiers (Connors, McCluskey and Langsford) are in a M3 Stuart tank participating in a war game near the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where General George Armstrong Custer made his last stand. Their orders coincide with the route of Custer and his men. As they follow the route, they hear strange things such as Indian battle cries and horses running when nobody is there. Connors wonders if they've somehow gone back in time. When they return, Connors reports to his Captain Dennet what occurred and is reprimanded.

The following day the trio go out and again experience strange phenomena. The captain contacts them via radio and orders them to return to base when Connors tries to explain what is happening. Connors breaks contact and the captain sends his lieutenant and two men to bring them in. However, the tank crew abandon their tank and continue on foot with their modern weapons. They find a group of teepees and McCluskey investigates. He soon returns with an arrow protruding from his back. The three men climb a ridge where they see a battle taking place below. They join it and are never seen again.

Later, Captain Dennet enters the Custer Battlefield National Monument. Lieutenant Woodard, the officer sent to find the tank and the three soldiers, reports that all they found was the abandoned tank. Later, both the captain and the lieutenant notice the names of their missing soldiers on the monument with the names of Custer's men. Captain Dennet states that it was a pity the missing soldiers couldn't have taken the tank with them to the battle.

Matt and Jean (Travers and McKenna) are a young couple with a longing to visit exotic places such as Samarkand. Matt inherits a cinema from his great uncle. When they look over their new property, they first mistake the modern Grand for it. They are soon disillusioned to learn that the cinema they actually own is the old decrepit Bijou Kinema (nicknamed "the flea pit"), which is sandwiched between two railway bridges. Along with the cinema come three long-time employees: Mrs. Fazackalee (Rutherford), the cashier and bookkeeper; Mr. Quill (Sellers), the projectionist; and Old Tom (Miles) the commissionaire, doorkeeper and usher.

Robin (Phillips), their solicitor, informs them that the Grand's owner, Mr. Hardcastle (De Wolff), had offered to buy the Bijou from Matt's great uncle for five thousand pounds in order to construct a car park for his nearby cinema. When they see their competitor however, he only offers them five hundred, thinking they have no choice but to accept.

Instead, on Robin's advice, they pretend to want to reopen the Bijou in order to force Hardcastle to raise his offer. At first, they seem to be succeeding, but then Old Tom inadvertently lets slip their overheard plan and Hardcastle refuses to budge. They decide to carry on with their bluff and go through with the opening. After a few mishaps, the business flourishes, especially after Matt employs the curvaceous Marlene Hogg (Cunningham) to sell ice creams and other treats at the interval. To increase sales, the heat in the theater was turned up during the showing of a film where parched actors crawled across a desert.

Hardcastle counters by slipping a bottle of whisky into the next shipment of film reels for Quill, who has a drink problem. He eventually succumbs to the temptation, leaving Matt to try unsuccessfully to substitute for him; Matt is unable to work the antiquated projectors properly, and they are forced to refund the customers' money. Matt and Jean are ready to give up (with Old Tom eavesdropping again, this time hearing Matt say that he had often wished the Grand were burnt to the ground) only to wake up the next morning to find that the Grand has burned down (Old Tom was last seen carrying a can of fuel oil out of the door). Hardcastle is forced to pay ten thousand pounds for the Bijou in order to stay in business while his cinema is being rebuilt. As an added condition, he has to keep the three staff on as employees.

Just as Matt and Jean are leaving on the train, Old Tom tells Matt that "It were the only way, weren't it?", implying he committed arson. Alarmed, they decide to write him a letter asking him to clarify his remark, but instead send him a postcard... from Samarkand.

FBI Special Agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast and Sergeant Vincent D'Agosta, now working for the Southampton Police Department, investigate a series of unusual deaths—deaths that appear to be the work of Lucifer in return for pacts entered in with him by his victims. Their investigation takes them from the New York City area, site of the first two deaths, to Florence, Italy where they uncover the motive and method of the killers behind the strange and gruesome deaths. During the course of unraveling the mystery, the truth behind a priceless, missing Stradivarius violin is revealed and a potentially apocalyptic riot with Messianic Christians is averted. Pendergast also reveals details of his insane brother Diogenes, whom he believes is planning something horrible.

Anatole the mouse lives in a mouse village outside the city of Paris. One day, while commuting by bicycle to forage for food, he overhears some humans complaining about mice as villains. Deeply aggrieved at the insult to his honor, Anatole resolves to do better. He goes to work in a French cheese factory as a taster and evaluator of the cheese. Working alone and anonymously late at night, he leaves notes to guide the cheesemakers in their work. His taste for good cheese leads to the factory's commercial success and to his murine fame to such an extent that Anatole is regularly hailed as a "mouse magnifique" by rodent contemporaries. The factory's human owners and workers also hold his work in high esteem, although they have no idea that the mysterious Anatole is a mouse, believing him simply an eccentric cheese connoisseur who prefers to work alone.

In these works the author, through the character of Anatole, consistently places emphasis on the dignity of work. Anatole lives in a conventional nuclear family, married to the beautiful and supportive Doucette and with six lovely children.

The film is set in the Manchu era. Two aging martial artists get together once a year for a timed duel. One is master of the short sword, King of Sabres (Sammo Hung), and the other is King of Spears (Lau Kar-wing). Every year the fight ends in a draw, and as the masters are getting old, they decide the best course of action is to each take on a student to determine who is the better teacher. They agree to meet up again 10 years later, with their students and let the next generation carry on the duel.

A previously upright martial artist known as Old Yellow Dog (Bryan Leung) kidnaps the students (also played by Lau and Hung) before their duel can begin. It transpires in a flashback that the master was defeated in separate battles with the King of Sabres and the King of Spears, and was forced to retire from fighting. Now, after years of training in the long bladed staff and with a new name, Laughing Bandit, he wants to lure the old masters out to exact his revenge. The old masters arrive, first taking on the Laughing Bandit's four disciples and killing them. However, this was a ploy to tire them out, and individually they are unable to defeat Laughing Bandit and his new techniques. The evil master suggests the old men both attack at once, but because of their pride and belief in their own superiority, they refuse. The students are released, while each master is fighting, and are instructed to escape. After some protestation they do, and the old masters are killed.

Fuelled by revenge, the students agree to join forces to defeat the evil master. Hung's character (the new King of Spears) comes up with a plan us to use magnets that can pull the Laughing Bandit's weapon from him. After luring him out into the open, they fight him unarmed, choosing to mimic their weapon styles with empty hands, but with the magnet they are able to disrupt his attacks, and after a gruelling fight they triumph. They kill the evil master.

After burying their masters, they decide to honour their memory by fulfilling their request to duel. However, as with their masters before them, the fight ends in a draw. Instead, they decide to resolve who is the greatest by playing a game, rather than fighting. Each must try to place his weapon into their masters burial mound, whilst simultaneously stopping their opponent from doing so. After another long competition, the film ends with the pair laughing at the absurdity of the rivalry and realising that as friends they will never be able to determine who is the best.

Sisters Tanzania "Tanzie" and Ava are wealthy, spoiled Hollywood socialites who enjoy shopping and dating, paying little attention to their late father's (Victor Marchetta) company, Marchetta Cosmetics, run by co-founder and family friend Tommy Katzenbach. Tanzie is going to college soon and Ava is planning to announce her engagement with fiancée Mic.

A major media scandal breaks, involving disfigurement from Marchetta night cream. The girls and their father's reputation is destroyed, and Ava and Tanzie retreat to their mansion. While preparing a home spa treatment, Tanzie accidentally spills nail polish remover. Ava's lit cigarette is then dropped during an argument, starting a fire.

Ava saves their father's watch and her engagement party dress while Tanzie saves their TiVo box with recordings of her father talking about his cosmetics. Going to a hotel, they learn all their credit cards have been blocked, leaving them completely broke. They move in with their maid and close family friend Inez in her small apartment. While there, their car is stolen by two men whom they naively mistook for valets.

The next morning, Ava and Tanzie, without their car, take a bus and then walk the rest of the way to Ava's engagement party. They are refused entry, their friend Etienne ignores them, they realize they were only liked for their money. Ava's fiancé Mic's agent Sol dumps her as she is now a "liability".

Tommy plans to persuade the board of directors to sell Marchetta Cosmetics to archrival Fabiella for $60 million (or $30 million each). The girls have 30 days until the stockholders meeting, when the deal will be made official.

The deal would mean they could return to their extravagant lifestyles, but they are depressed over their father's legacy being destroyed. After Tanzie's love interest and the company's lab technician Rick helps them evade the press outside, Ava and Tanzie decide to become "private investigators" and approach free legal clinic lawyer Henry for help. He agrees, after initially refusing as they are not "underprivileged". Determined to restore their father's reputation, the sisters are determined to uncover the truth.

Watching the news, Tanzie recognizes a woman who accused Marchetta of leaving her disfigured as also in an eczema documentary on KLAE. Tanzie goes to the KLAE offices dressed provocatively and flirts with the receptionist, who allows her access to the file room. She manages to obtain the woman's address, before being arrested and put in jail for fraud and trespassing. Ava pawns her father's Rolex (her most treasured possession) to pay Tanzie's bail money after Henry helps her realize that family is more important than material things.

The woman, Margo Thorness, says that Marchetta paid for her cosmetic surgery for the supposed damage caused by Marchetta Everdew night cream. However, Ava and Tanzie learn from her neighbor that she lied, as she was born with a skin disease. The girls meet with the board of directors and successfully clear the Marchetta name, revealing that Tommy (their father's best friend and trustee of the company) was behind the scandal, as he had helped fabricate testimonials, and used money taken from the sisters' personal bank accounts. Tommy is promptly fired by Ava.

Six months later, the girls are running the company, with Ava as the new CEO and Tanzie studying while working as a chemist. Ava is now in a relationship with Henry, and Tanzie is now with Rick.

Background

The backdrop of ''Gilgamesh'' is the fight between two opposing forces. One of the forces is known as the Gilgamesh, led by Terumichi Madoka (better known as Enkidu), and the other side is the Countess of Werdenberg and the three Orga-Superior children who live with her. In appearance, the Orga-Superior are indistinguishable from humans. However, they carry a special power known as "Dynamis" (a variation of the Greek "Dunamus" meaning "strength" "power" especially "miraculous power") which allows them to use psychic energy and control objects using only their mind. The overarching theme of ''Gilgamesh'' is one of choosing sides.

Central

The tomb of Gilgamesh in Uruk from the story 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' is discovered by a young genius-scientist named Terumichi Madoka, who is drawn to the energy called Dynamis, a word meaning 'power', resonating from the site. He reports his findings, and all of the world's best scientists gather there. When an unknown life form called Tear materializes in Delphys (a pit that seems to have no dimensions and that surrounds the tomb of Gilgamesh) and begins to contaminate embryos that surround it, the scientists stop all of the experiments. Dr. Madoka goes down to Delphys, breaches all of the guards around it and comes into direct contact with Tear, causing an immense explosion that blocks out the sky with a mirror-like layer. This is considered an act of terrorism, as after the explosion, computers and wireless communications stop working, and the planet falls into war and famine. The human population is nearly wiped out. This occurs on October 10, so the incident is called "Twin X" (after the Roman numeral symbol for the number 10).

Of the people who worked at Heaven's Gate, which is left in ruins, only Dr. Madoka and a woman introduced as the Countess of Werdenberg survive. Dr. Madoka flees, taking with him ten test subjects contaminated by the life form Tear from the rubble of Heaven's Gate, who grow up to become the ten Gilgamesh. The Countess of Werdenberg leads a team of three children (the Orga-Superior) who can use the Dynamis to battle the Gilgamesh that work for Dr. Madoka. The present Dr. Madoka (who calls himself Enkidu and that the Gilgamesh refer to as the Professor) does not appear until the very last episode of the series. It is learned through the Gilgamesh that he wants to wipe out the human race in a 'Cleansing Flood' and give rise to a new, more powerful human race.

Later in the series, a company known as the Mitleid Corporation throw themselves into the fray. The charismatic son of the Mitleid Chairman, Hayato Kazmatsuri, is a hardline anti-Gilgamesh military contractor who has made it his goal to wipe out the Gilgamesh through whatever means possible. However, Kazmatsuri cannot stand The Countess of Werdenberg because she refuses to tell the Orga-Superior and the siblings the truth about Twin X and their father's connection to it. As well, the siblings want to know the truth about how they were born.

Enkidu needs his two children, Tatsuya and Kiyoko to help him achieve his goal, but they want nothing to do with their terrorist father. The story starts out with them on the run from the Yakuza, because of their dead mother's debt. The story follows the repeated clashing of the four groups as the siblings, who can be called the main characters, try to figure out whom to trust (the Gilgamesh who appear to want a better world, the Countess and the Orga-Superior, who are fighting the Gilgamesh and trying to prevent what they believe is the end of humanity, or the Mitleid Corporation who are the only ones trying to tell the children the truth).

In the end of the series, The Countess of Werdenberg finds out that her heart itself was Tear and that the embryos were contaminated because of her hatred and jealousy towards Terumichi's wife. In the ensuing battle practically everyone dies, including all the Gilgamesh, Tatsuya, Kiyoko, the Orga-Superior, Reiko, and even Kazmatsuri — the final death, after being shot twice by the Countess. After the battle, the Countess surrenders her one-woman war against the sheltering sky, allowing Tear to enter her body and bring the Cleansing Flood. The sky descends, and the human world comes to an end.

In the last scene, Tear's goal of creating a new world has been realised but the "new" human it has given birth to reacts violently to its presence, since it has taken on the form of the young Countess. Consequently, the first act committed by the new human race is murder, suggesting that even Tear's attempts to restructure human nature were doomed from the beginning. After the final credits show, a gloomy scene depicting blood around the new human's face accompanied with a gleeful smile is shown.

The story opens with a middle-aged Dmitry Sanin rummaging through the papers in his study when he comes across a small cross set with garnets, which sends his thoughts back thirty years to 1840.

In the summer of 1840, a twenty-two-year-old Sanin, arrives in Frankfurt en route home to Russia from Italy at the culmination of a European tour. During his one-day layover he visits a confectioner's shop where he is rushed upon by a beautiful young woman who emerges frantic from the back room. She is Gemma Roselli, the daughter of the shop's proprietress, Leonora Roselli. Gemma implores Sanin to help her younger brother who has passed out and seems to have stopped breathing. Thanks to Sanin's aid, the boy – whose name is Emilio – emerges from his faint. Grateful for his assistance, Gemma invites Sanin to return to the shop later in the evening to enjoy a cup of chocolate with the family.

Later that evening, Sanin formally meets the members of the Roselli household. These include the matriarch, Leonora (or Lenore) Roselli, her daughter Gemma, her son Emilio (or Emile), and the family friend Pantaleone, a rather irascible old man and retired opera singer. Over conversation that evening Sanin grows increasingly enamoured with the young Gemma, while the Roselli family is also well-taken by the young, handsome, educated, and gracious Russian. Sanin so enjoys his evening that he forgets about his plans to take the diligence on to Berlin that night and so misses it. At the end of the evening Leonora Roselli invites Sanin to return the next day. Sanin is also disappointed to learn that Gemma is in fact engaged to a young German named Karl Klüber.

The following day Sanin is visited in his room by Gemma's fiancé, Karl Klüber, and the still recovering Emilio. Klüber thanks Sanin for his help in assisting Gemma and resuscitating Emilio and invites Sanin on an excursion he has arranged the following day to Soden. That evening Sanin enjoys another enjoyable time with the Rosellis and becomes yet more taken by the charm and beauty of Gemma.

The next morning Sanin joins Klüber, Gemma, and Emilio for the trip to Soden. During lunch at an inn the party shares the restaurant with a group of drinking soldiers. A drunken officer among their number approaches Gemma and rather brazenly declares her beauty. Gemma is infuriated by this behaviour, and Klüber, also angry, orders the small party to leave the dining room. The enraged Sanin on the other hand, feels compelled to confront the soldiers, and going over declares the offending officer an insolent cur and his behaviour unbecoming an officer. Sanin also leaves his calling card, anticipating he might be challenged to a duel for his public words.

The following morning a friend of the offending German officer arrives early at Sanin's door demanding either an apology or satisfaction on behalf of his friend. Sanin scoffs at any notion of apologizing and so a duel is arranged for the following day near Hanau. For his second Sanin invites the old man Pantaleone, who accepts and is impressed by the nobility and honour of the young Russian, seeing in him a fellow “galant'uomo.” Sanin keeps the planned duel a secret between himself and Pantaleone, though the latter reveals it to Emilio. Departing the Roselli home that night, Sanin has a brief encounter with Gemma, who calls him over to a darkened window when she spots him leaving along the street. As they whisper to one another there is a sudden gust of wind that sends Sanin's hat flying and pushes the two together. Sanin later feels this was the moment he began to fall in love with Gemma.

The next morning on the way to Hanau, Pantaleone's earlier bravado has largely faded. Sanin does his best to embolden him. At the subsequent duel Sanin gets off the first shot but misses, while his opponent, the Baron von Dönhof, shoots deliberately into the air. The officer, feeling his honor has been satisfied, then apologizes for his drunken behavior, an apology Sanin readily accepts. Sanin feels somewhat disgusted afterward that the whole duel was a farce. Pantaleone, however, is overjoyed with the outcome. Returning to Frankfurt with Pantaleone and Emilio (who had secretly followed him to the duel site), Sanin discovers that Emilio has in turn told Gemma about the duel. Sanin is a little put off by the indiscretion of this pair of chatterboxes, but cannot be angry. Back in Frankfurt, Sanin soon learns from a distraught Frau Lenore that Gemma has cancelled her engagement to Klaus for no apparent reason than that he did not defend her honor sufficiently at the inn. Frau Lenore is frantic at the idea of the scandal this will cause and Sanin promises to talk to Gemma and convince her to reconsider. In Sanin's subsequent talk with Gemma, she professes her love for him but tells him that for his sake she will reconsider her estrangement from Klaus.

Astonished and overcome by her confession of love, Sanin then urges her to do nothing just yet. Sanin then returns to his rooms to orient himself to this new development and there pens his own declaration of love to Gemma and gives it to Emilio to deliver. Gemma sends her response telling Sanin not to come to their home the next day, without providing an exact reason. So the next day Sanin spends with a delighted Emilio in the countryside and that evening returns to his rooms to find a note from Gemma asking him to meet her in a quiet public garden of Frankfurt at seven the next morning. This Sanin does and the two declare their love for one another and Sanin proposes marriage. Frau Lenore is shocked and hurt to learn of Sanin's love and thinks Sanin a hypocrite and a cunning seducer. But Sanin demands to meet with the disconsolate Frau Lenore and eventually convinces her of his noble intentions as well as his noble birth and his income sufficient to care for Gemma.

Sanin decides he must sell his small estate near Tula in Russia in order to pay for his planned nuptials and settling down with Gemma. By chance, he meets in the street the next day an old schoolmate of his, Hippolyte Sidorovich Polozov, who has come to Frankfurt from nearby Wiesbaden to do some shopping for his wealthy wife, Maria Nikolaevna. This seems to confirm Sanin's notion that a lucky star follows lovers, for Maria is from the same region near Tula as himself, and her wealth might make her a likely prospect to buy his estate, thus saving him a journey home to Russia. Sanin proposes this notion to the phlegmatic Hippolyte, who informs Sanin that he is never involved in his wife's financial decisions but that Sanin is welcome to return to Wiesbaden with him to present the idea to Maria. Sanin agrees though it will pain him to separate from Gemma. With Gemma and Frau Lenore's blessing, Sanin then makes the journey to Wiesbaden.

In Wiesbaden, Sanin soon meets the mysterious Maria Nikolaevna Polozov, and though conscious of her beauty is all business as Gemma still owns his heart. Maria asks about Sanin's love and upon hearing he is engaged to a confectionery professes herself impressed by Sanin, whom she calls “a man who is not afraid to love” despite the differences in class between himself and Gemma. Maria informs him that she herself is the daughter of a peasant and indeed speaks to Sanin in the Russian of the common classes rather than high Russian or French. Maria is interested in purchasing Sanin's estate but asks Sanin to give her two days to contemplate it. In the days that follow, and seemingly against his own will and inclination, Sanin finds himself increasingly obsessed by the curious Maria Nikolaevna as she intrudes herself upon his thoughts. In Wiesbaden Sanin also discovers the presence of none other than the Baron von Dönhof, who seems also to be smitten by Maria Nikolaevna. Maria invites Sanin to the theater where they share a private box. Bored with the play they retreat further into the box where Maria confesses what she cherished more than anything else is freedom, and thus her marriage to the rather witless Polozov, a marriage in which she can have absolute freedom. Before parting company for the evening Dmitry agrees to go riding with Maria the following day, in what he thinks will be their last meeting before he returns to Frankfurt and she proceeds to Paris. The next morning the pair heads off on their ride in the countryside accompanied only by a single groom, whom Maria soon dispatches to a local inn to wile away the afternoon, leaving her and Sanin to themselves. The seemingly fearless Maria leads Sanin on a vigorous ride across the countryside that leaves them invigorated and their horses breathless. When a thunderstorm moves in Maria leads them both to an abandoned cottage where they make love.

After their return to Wiesbaden, Sanin is eaten with remorse. When Maria greets her husband in his presence Sanin detects an uncharacteristic look of irritation on Polozov's face and it is revealed that he and his wife Maria had a wager on whether she could seduce Sanin, a wager Polozov has now lost. Maria asks Sanin if he is to return to Frankfurt or accompany them to Paris. His response is that he will follow Maria until she drives him away. His humiliation is complete.

The story then reverts to the present, some thirty years after these events. Sanin is again in his study, contemplating the garnet cross (previously revealed to have belonged to Gemma); and Sanin is again eaten with remorse, and recalls all the bitter and shameful memories he felt after the events of Wiesbaden, such as how he sent a tearful letter to Gemma that went unanswered, how he sent a groom of the Polozovs to fetch his things in Frankfurt, and even how the elderly Pantaleone, accompanied by Emilio, came to Wiesbaden to curse him. Most of all he recounts his embittered and shame-ridden life afterwards, in which he followed Maria until he was thrown off like an old rag and has since remained unmarried and childless. Now in his fifties, he decides to return to Frankfurt to track down his old love but once there finds no trace of the former Roselli home nor anyone who has even heard of them, though he does discover that Karl Klüber though initially very successful eventually went bankrupt and died in prison. Finally, however, he finds a now retired Baron von Dönhof, who tells him that the Rosellis had long since emigrated to America.

Through the conversation of von Dönhof and Sanin it is also revealed that Maria Nikolaevna died “long ago.” With the help of a friend of von Dönhof, Sanin obtains Gemma's address in New York, where she is married to a certain Slocum. Sanin immediately writes to her, describing the events of his life and begging that she respond as a sign that she forgives him. He vows to remain in Frankfurt at the same inn he stayed in thirty years ago until he receives her response. Eventually she does write and forgives him, while telling him about the lives of her family (she now has five children) and wishing him happiness, while also expressing the joy it would give her to see him again, though she doesn't think it likely. She encloses a picture of her eldest daughter, Marianna, who is engaged to be married. Sanin anonymously sends Marianna a wedding gift: Gemma's garnet cross, now set in a necklace of magnificent pearls. The novel ends with the author noting rumors that Sanin, who is quite financially well off, is planning to sell off his property and move to America.

In the spring of 1939, months before the outbreak of the war, eccentric Cambridge archaeologist Horatio Smith takes a group of British and American archaeology students to Nazi Germany to help in his excavations. His research is supported by the Nazis, since he professes to be looking for evidence of the Aryan origins of German civilisation.

However, he has a secret agenda: to free inmates of the concentration camps. During one such daring rescue, he hides disguised as a scarecrow in a field and is inadvertently shot in the arm by a German soldier idly engaging in a bit of target practice. Wounded, he still manages to free a celebrated pianist from a work gang. Later, his students guess his secret when they notice his injury and connect it to a newspaper story about the wounding of the latter-day Scarlet Pimpernel. They enthusiastically volunteer to assist him.

German Gestapo General von Graum is determined to find out the identity of the "Pimpernel" and eliminate him. Von Graum forces Ludmilla Koslowski to help him by threatening the life of her father, a leading Polish democrat held prisoner by the Nazis. When Smith finds out, he promises her he will free Koslowski.

Smith and his students, masquerading as American journalists, visit the camp in which Koslowski is being held. They overpower their escort, put on their uniforms, and leave with Koslowski and some other inmates. By now, von Graum is sure Smith is the man he is after, so he stops the train transporting the professor and various packing crates out of the country. However, when he has the crates opened, he is disappointed to find only ancient artefacts from Smith's excavations.

Von Graum still has Ludmilla, so Smith comes back for her. The general catches the couple at a border crossing. Smith tells Graum that the artefacts he has discovered disprove Nazi claims about the Aryan origins of the Germans. He predicts the Nazis will destroy themselves. In the end, Smith uses a distraction to escape into the fog, but promises to come back.

Steerpike usurps Barquentine

Steerpike, despite his position of authority, is in reality a dangerous traitor to Gormenghast who seeks to eventually wield ultimate power in the castle. To this end, he kills Barquentine so that he can replace him and so advance in power. Although he is successful in his murder of Barquentine, the old master of ritual put up such a severe struggle that Steerpike is severely injured in the process, suffering extensive burns and almost drowning. As Steerpike lies recovering in a delirious state from his ordeal, he cries out the words ''And the twins will make it five''. This is overheard by the castle's doctor, Dr Prunesquallor, who is greatly disturbed to hear it. Although the reader is not told this explicitly, Steerpike's words are a clear reference to the number of people he has killed. The reference to the twins is to the aunts of Titus, the twin sisters Ladies Cora and Clarice. Steerpike has effectively been holding them captive in a remote and abandoned part of the castle, and they are utterly dependent on him for food and drink. Due to Steerpike's prolonged recovery he is unable to supply them (and at some level Steerpike is aware of this, even in his delirium), and by the time he has recovered he believes them to have probably already died of thirst and starvation, though in fact they die a few days later.

Dr Prunesquallor discusses Steerpike's words with the Countess Gertrude, but they disagree over its meaning and the ambiguity over exactly what Steerpike meant is never resolved. Nevertheless, both of them are now thoroughly suspicious about Steerpike and his role in the various disappearances and deaths among the happenings of the castle. Although Steerpike appears to make a full recovery, he is left disfigured with a morbid fear of fire. It also becomes clear that the balance of his mind is increasingly disturbed.

The professors

An important part of Titus' life is spent at school, where he encounters the school professors, especially Bellgrove, one of Titus's teachers, who eventually ascends to Headmaster of Gormenghast. The other teachers are a collection of misfits, each with idiosyncrasies of their own, who bicker and compete with each other in petty rivalries, being not unlike a bunch of overgrown schoolboys themselves. A welcome humorous interlude in the novel occurs when Irma Prunesquallor (sister of the castle's doctor), decides to get married, and throws a party in the hope of meeting a suitable partner. To this end she invites the school professors, who are so terrified of meeting a woman that they make fools of themselves in various ways. One professor faints at the prospect of having to speak to Irma and has to be revived by the doctor. When he wakes up he flees naked and shrieking over the garden wall, never to be seen again. Only Bellgrove, recently made headmaster, rises to the occasion and behaves in a gentlemanly way to Irma. Bellgrove and Irma thus begin a rather unusual romance. Bellgrove becomes an important figure in Titus' development. In many respects, he is the standard absent-minded professor who falls asleep during his own class and plays with marbles. However, deep inside him there is a certain element of dignity and nobility. At heart Bellgrove is kindly, and if weak, at least has the humility to be aware of his faults. He becomes something of a father figure to Titus.

The Thing

An important development for Titus is his brief meeting with his "foster sister": a feral girl known only as 'The Thing', the daughter of Titus' wet-nurse, Keda of the Bright Carvers. The Thing, being an illegitimate child, is exiled by the Carvers and lives a feral life in the forests around Gormenghast. Titus first meets her when he escapes from the confines of Gormenghast into the outside world. Titus is entranced by her wild grace, and sets out to meet her. He does so, and holds her briefly, but she flees him and is fatally struck by lightning. However, her fierce independence inspires Titus, and gives him courage to later leave his home.

The unmasking of Steerpike

Due to the vigilance of the old servant Flay Steerpike is eventually unmasked as the murderer of the aunts of Titus, Cora and Clarice. He becomes a renegade within the castle, using his extensive knowledge to hide within its vast regions, and waging a guerrilla campaign of random killing with his catapult. Steerpike's capture seems impossible until the entire kingdom of Gormenghast is submerged in a flood, due to endless rains. The mud dwellers are forced to take refuge in the castle and the castle's own inhabitants are also forced to retreat to higher and higher floors as the flood waters keep rising. Fuchsia, grown increasingly melancholic and withdrawn after the death of her father and betrayal by Steerpike, briefly contemplates suicide. At the last moment, she changes her mind, but slips and falls from a window, striking her head on the way down and drowning in the floodwaters. Unaware of the accident when they find her body, both Countess Gertrude and Titus are convinced that Steerpike is to blame, and both resolve to bring the murderer to justice.

So begins an epic manhunt through the rapidly flooding castle, with Steerpike forced into ever smaller areas and eventually surrounded by the castle's forces. Even at this late stage, his ruthlessness and cunning mean that Steerpike almost evades capture. However, Titus realises that he is hiding in the ivy against the castle walls, and full of rage and hatred against Steerpike he pursues and kills him himself. Despite being hailed as a hero, Titus is intent on leaving Gormenghast to explore a wider world, and the novel ends with him dramatically riding away to seek his fortune in the unknown lands outside.

Mark Robertson's cover illustration for the Mandarin paperback edition

The story follows Titus as he journeys through the world outside Gormenghast Castle, having left his home at the end of the second book.

Muzzlehatch and the city

Titus bumbles through a desert for a time, then uses a canoe to row down the river, where the reader gets a surprise: although Gormenghast is a crumbling, medieval castle, Titus finds himself in a modern city. Skyscrapers tower and the river itself is covered in pipes, canals and fishermen. As he slips the painter on the canoe, he has his first encounter with two faceless, silent persons, ostensibly police officers. Titus is exhausted by this stage and collapses on the city's waterfront, where he is rescued by a man named Muzzlehatch, who runs a zoo and drives a shark-shaped car. When Titus has recovered, he becomes restless and leaves Muzzlehatch's home to explore the city. He comes upon various huge glass and steel buildings, and arrives at a vast circular plaza of grey marble, which he begins to cross. At the far side of the plaza is a kind of airfield where brightly coloured flying machines land and take off. One of the flying machines starts to pursue Titus and he crosses the plaza hurriedly and runs into a large building to escape. He climbs to the top of the building and observes through a skylight that a party is taking place. He watches the party, overhearing various strange and disjointed conversations, until by accident he breaks the skylight, and falls through onto the ground. Titus only avoids arrest at this stage because he is lucky enough to have landed at the feet of Juno, who is Muzzlehatch's ex-lover. Juno and Muzzlehatch (who is also at the party) hide Titus until the police are gone. Nevertheless Titus is later arrested anyway, and brought to trial before a magistrate. He only avoids being sent to an institution for offenders by Juno agreeing to be his guardian and taking him in to live with her.

Mark Robertson's cover illustration for the Mandarin paperback edition

Juno and the Under-River

Titus then goes to stay with Juno, who lives by herself in a beautiful mansion. Although she is at least twice his age, after a short while they become lovers. There follows a blissful period when the two lovers live together joyfully, but Titus again becomes restless and decides to leave Juno. He parts from Juno and heads out once more to explore the city, where he is followed by a mysterious floating orb, which appears to have an intelligence of its own. Titus becomes frightened and angry towards the grey, translucent orb, and flings his Gormenghast flint (his only token of home) at it, smashing the orb into pieces. He then flees to Muzzlehatch's house. Muzzlehatch informs Titus that the scientists are furious because of the destruction of their orb – their greatest achievement – and that Titus's life is now in danger. He gives Titus directions to the hidden world of the Under-River and urges Titus to flee there.

The Under-River is a hidden region of tunnels and halls under the city's river, filled with outcasts, runaways and derelicts. When he gets there, Titus has an encounter with an ex-prison camp warden called Veil, who is abusing a woman companion, an ex-prisoner called the Black Rose. Titus and Veil start to fight over the Black Rose, and Titus is about to be killed when Muzzlehatch appears and kills Veil. Muzzlehatch reveals that the scientists have killed all the animals in his zoo, using some sort of death-ray. Muzzlehatch and Titus then bring the Black Rose out of the Under-River region to Juno's house to recover from her abuse. Titus then flees the city, and Muzzlehatch also leaves, seeking revenge on the scientists. Despite their efforts, the Black Rose dies as soon as they are gone, and Juno is forced to provide an excuse to the city authorities for her presence. After she has dealt with this, Juno then encounters a red-haired man at the bottom of her garden, who tells her that he has been living in the woods beside Juno's house, watching and waiting for her for a long time. Despite him being a stalker of some kind, Juno takes up with the mysterious man, whom she decides to call "Anchor" (he will not tell her his real name). They leave Juno's house and the city together in Anchor's car, in search of adventure.

Cheeta and the factory

Titus resumes his wanderings and is eventually found in a state of fever by a woman named Cheeta, who nurses him back to health. While he is in a fever Titus continually talks about his past, and as a result, Cheeta learns all about Gormenghast by listening to him. When he has recovered, Titus becomes infatuated with Cheeta, who is very beautiful and also very rich. Cheeta is described as a "modern girl" with "a new kind of beauty", who flies a helicopter. Titus lusts for her because he has spent all his life in a straitlaced medieval castle, and Cheeta lives like science incarnate. She is the daughter of a scientist who runs a huge modern factory next to a lake. When Titus first sees the factory from a distance it looks sleek and impressive, but as he gets closer he notices that it gives off a strange unnerving hum, and a sickly sweet smell of death. As he first looks closely at the factory he notices an identical face looking at him from every window, and when a whistle blows they all instantly disappear. He is repulsed by the factory and begins to feel uneasy about Cheeta.

Although Titus lusts for Cheeta, he also tells her several times that he hates her and tells her to "go home to your horde of vestal virgins and forget me as I shall forget you". Cheeta is shocked because other men would give anything for her favour. She contrives an elaborate plan to lure him into the "Black House", to see "a hundred bright inventions", and end their relationship on a high note. There, she attempts to recreate Gormenghast horrendously in order to humiliate Titus and drive him insane, but she is foiled by Muzzlehatch. Muzzlehatch has arrived at the Black House in order to confront Cheeta's father, the scientist, for his role in the murder of his animals. He reveals that he has sabotaged Cheeta's father's factory, and a few moments later it is destroyed in a huge explosion that rocks the Black House and covers the sky in a filthy orange cloud. Muzzlehatch is then killed by the helmeteers (see below), who are in turn killed by Anchor and the trio from the Under-River (also see below). Muzzlehatch decides it is not worth killing Cheeta's father, and he and his daughter flee. Titus also flees in an aircraft with Anchor and Juno. After flying for a while, Titus jumps out of the aircraft with a parachute and lands near a large rock that he knew from his childhood. Hearing the guns of Gormenghast saluting the missing Earl, he is confirmed in his knowledge that he is not insane and that the Castle exists. Tempted to return to his duties, he nevertheless confirms his desire for independence and once again strikes off alone, this time in a different direction.

Cru Jones is a teenage BMX racer who lives in a small town with his younger sister Wesley and their mother. Cru is faced with a tough decision: qualify for Helltrack, or take the SAT in order to attend college. Winning Helltrack means $100,000, a new Chevrolet Corvette, and fame. Cru chooses the former option, against his mother's wishes.

The Helltrack race is endorsed by the city and by Duke Best, the duplicitous president of FAB (the Federation of American Bicyclists), who's also the owner of Mongoose Racing. Duke keeps adjusting the rules, in order to keep Cru out of the race, and also to ensure BMX star Bart Taylor has an easy road to victory thus providing a financial windfall for Mongoose Racing, Bart's sponsor.

Numerous BMX racers show up for Helltrack. Cru meets Christian Hollings, who becomes his romantic interest. At Cru's senior prom, he and Christian perform freestyle bike stunts on the dance floor to the awe of his classmates. After being blocked from the race due to a last-minute rule-change on participant sponsorship, Cru is ready to give up Helltrack until Wesley customizes a shirt for him to wear at the event. It reads "Cru is RAD." Inspired by this, Cru and his friends use the money he won from qualifying ($10,000) to found a small T-shirt business: "Rad Racing." However, a few days before the race, Duke changes the rules yet again claiming any company sponsoring a racer must be worth at least $50,000. When the townspeople hear about this, they rally around Cru; their contributions, particularly a generous donation from wealthy Mr. Timmer, provide Rad Racing with enough money for Cru to enter Helltrack.

During Helltrack, Duke bribes the Reynolds twins to take out Cru, but they fail. In the final stretch of the race, Taylor and Cru face each other; Cru ultimately wins Helltrack, while Taylor is dropped from Mongoose Racing. Now aware of Duke's true nature, the entire Mongoose team quits on him. Cru offers Taylor a spot in Rad Racing, while Duke is asked to resign from FAB.

The novel is the story of a gay English man, Edward Manners, who, disaffected with life, moves to a town in Flanders where he teaches two students English. One, Marcel, is plodding and plain while the other, Luc, is gifted and, to the protagonist, extremely beautiful. The novel also deals with Manners' emerging relationship with Marcel's father who curates a museum of symbolist paintings by Edgard Orst (modelled on Fernand Khnopff and James Ensor). Edward has an affair with a young foreigner named Cherif who falls deeply in love with him, but Edward, in love with Luc, can never really return his affection. We see the same pattern in the novel's recounting of Edward's youthful affair years earlier (when he was even younger than Luc) with Dawn, a handsome but not classically beautiful youth who later dies tragically. Edward soon became bored with him, and even now he can only gin up much feeling about Dawn by giving his past affair and the subsequent death of his old love a high literary treatment modeled after the tradition of the pastoral elegy. Like his forerunner von Aschenbach in Thomas Mann's ''Death in Venice'' (who obsesses over the beautiful Tadzio), and the artist Orst, Edward is a lover of beauty, not a lover of people, and people's beauty is fleeting. Thus the disappearance of Jane Byron, Orst's beautiful model, and later of Luc, Edward's version of Tadzio, represents how cruel life can be to those who worship at Beauty's altar.

Many of the characters (Manners, Orst, Marcel's father, Luc) are marked by obsession with others. The past continually intrudes into the twilight world Hollinghurst evokes, dragging Manners back to England for a time. Two major characters, both objects of romantic obsession, mysteriously disappear. The long-lost Jane Byron, beloved model for Orst, had swum out to sea at Ostend, Belgium, decades ago and was never seen again, leaving the artist with a lifelong obsession for painting her image. The beautiful youth Luc, obsessive love interest of the protagonist Manners, also disappears. In the book's enigmatic conclusion, Luc is last seen looking out from one of many photographs of missing children on a salt-spattered bulletin board at the beach in Ostend. Thus, like Byron, he ultimately ends up existing only within a frame, and his disappearance is poetically linked to the "shiftless" North Sea waves at the famous beach.

William Beckwith is a highly privileged, cultivated and promiscuous young gay man. He is the grandson and heir of Viscount Beckwith, an elder statesman and a recent peer. To avoid death duties, that grandfather has already settled most of his estate on Will, who therefore has substantial private means and no need of work.

As the novel opens, Will is currently seeing a young, working-class, black man named Arthur. Will is deeply sexual and physically very attractive. His preoccupation with Arthur is almost entirely physical.

Will is a member of the Corinthian Club (‘the Corry’) at which he swims, exercises and cruises men. The Corry is in no formal sense a gay club, indeed it is made clear that there are non-gay members, but there is a pervasive homoerotic atmosphere.

Whilst cruising a young man in a London park, Will enters a public toilet to find a group of older men cottaging. One of them suddenly suffers what is perhaps a minor heart attack and collapses. Will applies artificial respiration and saves the man's life. He returns home to find Arthur bleeding and terrified. Arthur has accidentally killed a friend of his brother Harold's, after an argument about drugs. Will agrees to shelter Arthur.

At the Corry, Will meets the old man again and learns that he is Lord (Charles) Nantwich. Charles invites Will to lunch at Wicks': his club. Wicks' is filled with men "of fantastic seniority". Will studied History at Oxford, getting a 2.1 rather than the first that he says had been expected of him. That he has studied history will in the course of the novel be revealed as an irony.

Trapped in close confinement with Arthur, Will begins to resent him. Their boredom and tension occasionally erupts in bouts of vaguely abusive sex . Will goes to a cinema that shows gay pornography and has anonymous sex. On the train home, Will reads ''Valmouth'', a novel by Ronald Firbank, given to him by his best friend, James. James is a hard-working doctor who is insecure and sexually frustrated as a gay man. The novel by Firbank echoes themes central to The Swimming-Pool Library; secrets and discretion; extreme old age, colonialism, race and camp; the sense of deeper truths residing behind a thin façade of artifice.

Back at the flat, William finds his small nephew Rupert, an enchantingly self-possessed boy of six, who has run away from home. Rupert loves Will and is interested in homosexuality. Despite his youth, Rupert exhibits a strong gay sensibility. Will calls his sister Philippa and her husband Gavin comes to collect Rupert. While they're waiting, Will and Rupert look at a photo album containing photos of a young Will and members of his family. Will goes to the Corry with James; on their return, Arthur has vanished.

Will visits Charles at his home, where he lives with his servant Lewis. Lewis is curt, even slightly aggressive and seems jealously protective of Nantwich. Charles's house is filled with memorabilia and books; there are homoerotic paintings as well as a portrait of a beautiful African boy. In the cellar, they look at some Roman mosaics and Charles asks Will to write his biography for him.

At the Corry, Will is attracted to Phil, a young bodybuilder. Despite his physique, Phil is shy and a sexual novice. Will suspects that Phil is the man with whom he had sex in the cinema.

James believes that Will is wasting his intelligence and his literary skill and urges him to write Charles's biography. Will returns to Charles's house to find him locked in his bedroom by Lewis. Their master/servant relationship is complex and fraught. Will takes Charles’ diaries and notes home.

On the train, Will cruises a young man whom he takes home; they engage in sexual intercourse. He begins to read Charles's papers.

Charles's early life vividly illustrates themes central to the experience of being homosexual, privileged and British. Will reads of his boyhood at public school, where he experienced sexuality by turns brutal and tender. He is cruelly raped by one boy but later taken under the protection of an older boy, Strong, who treats him gently. Strong became a soldier in the Great War, was badly injured and died insane. Charles becomes aware that he is strongly attracted to black men when he is openly propositioned by an American soldier. He experiences feelings of desperate arousal, fear and revulsion and flees.

As a student, Charles goes on a spree with some friends in the country. They go to an abandoned hunting lodge and drink champagne. Charles has sex with one of them; a young man who feels insecure about his (comparatively) modest background and sexual inexperience.

As a young man, Charles enters the Foreign Service and travels to Sudan to act as a regional administrator. He is enchanted by the land and powerfully drawn to African men but finds himself cut off by race, rank and position. Charles ruminates on the sense of devotion that homosexuality can foster between men and how that devotion aids duty and right action.

Phil invites Will back to his lodgings in the Hotel where Phil works as a waiter. Phil wants sex but is too shy so Will seduces him. Will goes to the opera with James and his grandfather. The opera is Billy Budd. Will is struck almost to tears by the homoerotic and emotional power of the work. During the conversation afterwards, the subject of Benjamin Britten’s own homosexuality arises and they talk about his relationship with E. M. Forster, who co-wrote the libretto. The relationship between gay sexual expression and art is gently explored.

Will continues reading Charles's diaries. On the way to a boxing club financially supported by Nantwich, Will has an unpleasant encounter with a working class boy, who offers him sex for money. Will refuses; there are undertones of fear and violence. At the match, Will meets Bill: a man he knows from the Corry. Bill is a weightlifter; a large muscular man who coaches teenage boxers. Trapped inside his body, Bill seems a fearful man. He is devoted to Nantwich, his patron, and to the boys he coaches. He is also carrying a torch for Phil.

From the diaries, Will learns that Nantwich has been to Egypt and then returned to London, where he met with Ronald Firbank: an extraordinary portrait of effete decrepitude, camp and alcoholic.

Will takes Phil to visit Staines, a successful studio photographer who echoes Cecil Beaton. Staines is a gossipy queen and socialite. His lover is a "school tart" grown old; a kept man drinking too much. Staines poses Phil bare-chested and oiled, as pornography. This episode overtly deals with gay artifice, staging and the image. Phil is idealised and objectified. Staines reveals that Charles's brother was homosexually insatiable, exploited his servants and was subsequently beaten to death and that Charles's uncle was likewise into rough trade.

At Nantwich's house, Will and Charles talk about Ronald Firbank. Charles gives Will a beautiful edition of one of Firbank's novels as a gift. Afterwards, Will goes to Arthur's address in a working class area of London and calls but there is no answer. Returning, he encounters a group of skinheads who demand his watch, attack and queer-bash him, destroying the Firbank novel in the process. Will goes home, where James patches him up but beauty is temporarily ruined. He reads Charles's diary aloud to Phil: Charles describes a North African trying to covertly sell him gay pornography and is disturbed at being ‘outed’ in a foreign culture.

Will returns to Staines's home with Nantwich. There are several other men there, including two youths and a black chef, Abdul, who works at Charles's club. Will is powerfully attracted to Abdul. It transpires that Staines and Nantwich are collaborating on the production of a pornographic film in which Abdul and the two youths are performing. The theme of voyeurism alienates Will, who finds it embarrassing and quietly leaves.

Will takes Phil out clubbing at The Shaft. He has not been there for many months and there are vivid descriptions of a night on the gay ‘scene’. Will and Phil drink, dance and meet several gay ‘types’, including a Brazilian bodybuilder. He discovers Arthur, who has been working for his brother Harold, in the bathroom and attempts to have sex with him. Arthur is obviously quite upset, and they part ways.

Will gets a telephone call from James; he has been arrested whilst seeking sex. This is ironic since James's sex-life is non-eventful compared to Will's. It appears to be a case of police-entrapment, with an undercover officer soliciting sex from homosexual men.

Charles's diaries have entered the Second World War; he is entering middle-age and the tone is melancholy. He is passionately devoted to an African man; the beautiful boy whose portrait hangs in Charles's house. The boy is now grown and soon to marry.

Will goes to an exhibition of photographs by Staines. The theme is soft-core homo-erotica. He is surprised to find Gavin there. Talking with Staines, he discovers that he and Charles have produced three pornographic films of the type that play in the cinema where Will first had sex with Phil.

From the diaries, Will learns how Charles's life was ruined. The African man whom he loved gets married and Charles begins to visit anonymous sex clubs and cruisy bathrooms. One night he solicits a policeman, who arrests Charles for public indecency. Despite his rank, Charles is ruthlessly prosecuted by a conservative politician of the time, who wants to make an example of him. The politician is William's grandfather; now the Viscount Beckwith. Will's wealth, his rank and his leisured gay existence are all built on a foundation of homosexual persecution. He also learns that Charles and Bill met in prison, where Bill, then a young man, had been thrown for having a love-affair with a boy three years younger than himself. The theme of natural love and sexuality destroyed by elite oppression is very powerful. While Charles is in prison, he learns that Taha, the African man, has been beaten to death in an incident that is apparently racially motivated. After learning about his grandfather's past, Will decides that he cannot now write Charles's biography, nor was he intended to do so. Charles has been educating him on his own past.

Will talks on the phone with Gavin, his brother in law. Gavin tells Will that he knew it was Will's grandfather who imprisoned Charles. A past perhaps so distant that the archaeologist knows it where the historian does not.

Rupert has been told to watch out for Arthur; he reports that he has seen him with his brother Harold. Will goes to Phil's hotel. He encounters a rich Argentine who propositions him. Will accepts until he finds that the man is obsessed with gay pornographic conventions, costumes and sex toys. Will finds this all slightly ridiculous and is not aroused. He refuses to consent to sex and leaves.

Upstairs, he discovers Phil having sex with Bill. Disoriented, he leaves and wanders to James's and then the Corry, where Charles Nantwich reveals his designs in giving Will the diaries. Will and James go to Staines's to see a film, not a piece of pornography but an archive recording of Ronald Firbank in old age. The novel closes.

The story centres on Gabriel Conroy, a teacher and part-time book reviewer, and explores the relationships he has with his family and friends. Gabriel and his wife, Gretta, arrive late to an annual Christmas party hosted by his aunts, Kate and Julia Morkan, who eagerly receive him. After an awkward encounter with Lily, the caretaker's daughter, Gabriel goes upstairs and joins the rest of the party attendees. Gabriel worries about the speech he has to give, especially because it contains academic references that he fears his audience will not understand. When Freddy Malins arrives drunk, as the hosts of the party had feared, Aunt Kate asks Gabriel to make sure he is all right.

As the party moves on, Gabriel is confronted by Miss Ivors, an Irish nationalist, about his publishing a weekly literary column in the Unionist newspaper ''The Daily Express''. She teases him as a "West Briton", that is, a supporter of English political control of Ireland. Gabriel recalls that he gets 15 shillings a week and "the books he received for review were almost more welcome than the paltry cheque". He thinks this charge is highly unfair but fails to offer a satisfactory rejoinder. The encounter ends awkwardly, which bothers Gabriel the rest of the night. He becomes more disaffected when he tells his wife of the encounter and she expresses an interest in returning to visit her childhood home of Galway. The music and party continue, but Gabriel retreats into himself, thinking of the snow outside and his impending speech.

Dinner begins, with Gabriel seated at the head of the table. The guests discuss music and the practices of certain monks. Once the dining has died down, Gabriel thinks once more about the snow and begins his speech, praising traditional Irish hospitality, observing that "we are living in a sceptical...thought-tormented age", and referring to Aunt Kate, Aunt Julia and Mary Jane as the Three Graces. The speech ends with a toast, and the guests sing "For they are jolly gay fellows".

As the party winds down the guests filter out, and Gabriel prepares to leave, he finds his wife standing, apparently lost in thought, at the top of the stairs. In another room, Bartell D'Arcy sings "The Lass of Aughrim". The Conroys leave and Gabriel is excited, for it has been a long time since he and Gretta have had a night in a hotel to themselves. When they arrived at the hotel, Gabriel's aspirations of passionate lovemaking are conclusively dashed by Gretta's lack of interest. He presses her about what is bothering her, and she admits that she is "thinking about that song, ''The Lass of Aughrim''". She admits that it reminds her of someone, a young man named Michael Furey, who had courted her in her youth in Galway. He used to sing "The Lass of Aughrim" for her. Furey died at seventeen, early in their relationship, and she had been very much in love with him. She believes that it was his insistence on coming to meet her in the winter and the rain, while already sick, that killed him. After telling these things to Gabriel, Gretta falls asleep. At first, Gabriel is shocked and dismayed that there was something of such significance in his wife's life that he never knew about. He ponders the role of the countless dead in living people's lives, and observes that everyone he knows, himself included, will one day only be a memory. He finds in this fact a profound affirmation of life. Gabriel stands at the window, watching the snow fall, and the narrative expands past him, edging into the surreal and encompassing the entirety of Ireland. As the story ends, we are told that "His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead".

This cartoon opens with the title credits over the strains of “Down by the Riverside”, then into an extended series of establishing shots of an Army Air Force base, to the brassy strains of “We’re in to Win” (a World War II song also sung by Daffy Duck in ''Scrap Happy Daffy'' two months before). The sign at the base reads "U.S. Army Air Field", and below that is shown the location, the number of planes (which include C-45 Expeditors and a Douglas B-18 Bolo) and number of men, all marked "Censored" as a reference to military secrecy. Beneath those categories, a sign reads "What Men Think of Top Sergeant", the reply to which is covered with a large white-on-black "CENSORED!!", implying that the language of the men's reply is not suitable for the public (and would not pass scrutiny by the Hays Office).

Bugs Bunny is seen reclining on a piece of ordnance (a blockbuster bomb) idly reading ''Victory Thru Hare Power'' (a spoof of the 1942 book).Shull, Wilt (2004), p. 61 He begins laughing uproariously, and turns to the audience to share what he is reading: an assertion that gremlins wreck American planes through "di-a-bo-lick-al saa-boh-tay-jee," a notion that Bugs finds ludicrous. As he continues enjoying what he considers a hilarious joke, a little yellow humanoid wearing a large blue helmet with airplane wings scuttles by and begins striking the bomb's nose with a mallet, to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." It takes Bugs a few seconds to realize the reality of the situation but shortly he asks the gremlin, "What's all the hub-bub, Bub?"

The gremlin explains that the bomb must be hit "just right" in order to be made to explode, and gets back to work. Bugs steps in to suggest that perhaps he ought to "take a whack at it", and proceeds to wind up for a great, hard swing. He stops immediately before making contact, in the sudden realization that, thanks to the strange being, he is engaging in an insane activity. Bugs starts shouting at the creature, but it is apparently gone. Bugs then turns to the audience as he ponders whether he has just had an experience with a gremlin. The gremlin appears on Bugs' face and affirms its existence with a shout, "It ain't Wendell Willkie!" It then hammers Bugs' foot with the mallet and runs off.

Bugs gives chase and, from its perch on a plane's wing, the gremlin clobbers the rabbit with a monkey wrench, knocking him silly. Bugs speaks nonsensically as Lennie Small, then as Baby Snooks. When he regains his senses, the now infuriated Bugs gives chase, wielding the monkey wrench and ending up inside a plane (which ironically resembles a Heinkel He-111). The gremlin grabs the wrench and bashes Bugs' foot with it. As Bugs reacts to the pain, the gremlin locks him in, sets the plane in motion and ultimately into the air. Bugs - reacting to the creature briefly laughing to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" when it appears at the door's window - is not aware that the plane is aloft until the gremlin opens the door as Bugs comes at it full-throttle, hoping to break it open. The rabbit finds himself in mid-air and, after turning into a jackass for a moment (as the "You're a horse's ass" motif is heard), he briefly demonstrates a heretofore-unseen ability to fly like a bird before racing through the open sky, back into the plane. Due to strategically placed banana skins, however, he slides out the door on the other side.

The gremlin, feeling that his job is done, slams the door triumphantly but opens it again when he notices it shaking. A terrified Bugs is plastered to it, with his heart pounding "4F" (Army code for drastically limiting medical condition, hospitalization required, and/or ineligible to be inducted via the draft). The gremlin pries him from the door; Bugs flies off but soon settles, curled up and flat, on the bomb bay doors - which, of course, the gremlin opens. Fortunately, Bugs' feet catch on a wire but, as he is hanging there, he sees that the gremlin is now steering the plane into a city and toward two skyscrapers. Bugs rushes into the cockpit, takes control of the airplane, rolls it vertically, and flies through an extremely narrow slot between the towers to avoid what seemed to be an inevitable impact.

The plane goes into a steep nosedive, its wings ripping off during its descent. Bugs is helpless, airsick and melting with terror. The gremlin nonchalantly plays with a yo-yo while awaiting impact. An impossibly short distance above the ground, the plane unexpectedly sputters to a halt and hangs in the air, defying gravity. Both Bugs and the gremlin casually address the audience. The gremlin apologizes for the plane's fuel depletion, while Bugs points to a wartime gas rationing sticker on the plane's windshield and remarks, "Yeah. You know how it is with these A cards!"

CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle is injured, when football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson of the Cleveland Browns runs into him during a home game at Municipal Stadium. Harry's injuries are minor, but his conniving lawyer brother-in-law William H. "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich convinces him to pretend that his leg and hand have been partially paralyzed, so they can receive a huge indemnity from the insurance company.

Harry reluctantly goes along with the scheme because he is still in love with his ex-wife, Sandy, and being injured might bring her back. The insurance company's lawyers at O'Brien, Thompson and Kincaid suspect that the paralysis is a fake, but all but one of their medical experts say that it is real. The experts are convinced by the remnants of a compressed vertebra (in fact, Hinkle suffered the injury as a child), and Hinkle's responses, helped by the numbing shots of novocaine Gingrich has had a paroled dentist give him. The one holdout, Swiss Professor Winterhalter, is convinced that Hinkle is a fake. With no medical evidence to base their case on, O'Brien, Thompson and Kincaid hire Cleveland's best private detective, Chester Purkey, to keep Hinkle under constant surveillance. However, Gingrich sees Purkey entering the apartment building across the street and lets Hinkle know they are being watched and recorded - and after Sandy arrives, warns him not to indulge in any hanky panky with her. He proceeds to feed misinformation to Purkey; he incorporates the "Harry Hinkle Foundation", a non-profit charity to which all the proceeds of any settlement are to go, above and beyond the medical expenses. When Sandy questions Gingrich about this in private, he tells her that it is just a scam to put pressure on the insurance company to settle, and that there will be enough money in the settlement for everyone. Hinkle begins to enjoy having Sandy back again, but he feels bad when he sees that Boom-Boom is so guilt-ridden, his performance on the field suffers; he is booed by the fans and then grounded by the team for getting drunk and involved in a bar fight.

Hinkle wants Gingrich to represent Boom-Boom, but to Hinkle's displeasure, Gingrich says he is too busy negotiating with O'Brien, Thompson & Kincaid. Hinkle learns Sandy has returned to him strictly out of greed. Hinkle obtains a $200,000 settlement check. However, Purkey has a plan to expose the scam. He shows up at the apartment to collect his supposedly microphones. He begins to make racist remarks about Boom-Boom and "our black brothers" getting out of hand. Hinkle, incensed, jumps up out his wheelchair and decks Purkey, but Purkey's assistant Max is not sure he recorded it on film because "It's a little dark". Hinkle asks Purkey if he would like a second take, turns on a light and advises the cameraman how to set his exposure. He then punches Purkey again, and follows up by swinging from curtain rods and bouncing on the bed. Sandy is crawling on the floor looking for her lost contact lens, and just before he leaves the apartment, Hinkle roughly pushes her down to the ground with his foot. Gingrich claims he had no idea that his client was deceiving him, and announces his intention to sue the insurance company lawyers for invasion of privacy and report Purkey's racist remarks to various organizations. Hinkle drives to the stadium, where he finds Boom-Boom leaving the team and becoming a wrestler named "The Dark Angel". He manages to snap him out of the state, and the two run down the fields passing and lateraling a football back and forth between them.

The song tells the tale of Richard Cory from the perspective of a man who works in his factory. The worker is envious of Cory. The advantages and recreations available to Richard Cory are enumerated in the song and the worker openly envies not only these specific advantages but Cory's presumed happiness. The last verse of the song ends similarly to the Robinson poem: ''Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head.'' Whereas the original poem concludes with this closing revelation and its implications, the repetition of the chorus in Simon's version (still pressing an insistent envy following Cory's suicide) discloses a second, darker revelation about what the worker wants.

Down on his luck, a washed-up movie director and writer Harry Dawes is reduced to working for abusive, emotionally stunted business tycoon Kirk Edwards, who has decided that he wants to produce a film to boost his monumental ego. Looking for a glamorous leading lady, they go to a Madrid night club to see a dancer named Maria Vargas, about whom Kirk had already been told.

Maria is a blithe but proud spirit who likes to go barefoot and has a troubled home life. Maria immediately likes Harry, whose work she knows, but takes an instant dislike to Kirk. Although she flees during their meeting, Harry tracks her down to her family home and convinces her to fly away with them to the United States to make her first film. Thanks to his expertise and the help of sweaty, insincere publicist Oscar Muldoon, her film debut is a sensation. With subsequent films by this team, Maria becomes a respected actress, Harry's career is resurrected, and they become friends.

During a party at Maria's house, Kirk and wealthy Latin American playboy Alberto Bravano become involved in an argument over Maria. Alberto had conspicuously admired Maria during the evening. When Alberto invites her to join him on his yacht in the Riviera, Kirk orders her to stay away from him. Offended by Kirk's attempted domineering, she accepts Alberto's invitation. Also seeing an opportunity, Oscar, tired of being Kirk's lackey, switches his allegiance to Alberto.

Maria is now a great star, but she is not satisfied. She envies the happiness her friend Harry has found with his wife Jerry. Alberto is too frivolous and shallow for her. One evening at a casino, while Alberto is gambling, Maria takes some of his chips and cashes them, throwing the money to her gypsy lover from a window. When Alberto goes on a losing streak, he berates Maria in public for ruining his luck. Subsequently, he receives a slap in the face from Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini, who escorts Maria from the casino.

Maria stays with Vincenzo and his widowed sister, Eleanora, at the count's palazzo. She has found the great love of her life, and they wed in a lavish ceremony, in which Harry gives away the bride. But there is a problem. The count and his sister are the last of the Torlato-Favrinis; without offspring, the noble line will die out. The count has a secret. Due to a war injury, he is impotent. He does not tell Maria about this until their wedding night.

On a rainy night, months later, with Harry in Italy, an unhappy Maria arrives at his hotel room, telling him about her husband's impotence, but confessing that she is pregnant. She believes Vincenzo will want this child in order to perpetuate the family lineage. Harry warns her Vincenzo is too proud to accept this, but Maria feels otherwise and plans to tell him about her pregnancy that night.

After Maria leaves his hotel room, Harry notices Vincenzo's car trailing hers, and follows them. Back at the palazzo in the servants' quarters, Vincenzo shoots to death both Maria and her lover before she can tell him about the child. Harry arrives just as the shots are fired. He does not tell Vincenzo about the pregnancy. The story ends, as it began, with flashbacks at her funeral. Afterward, Vincenzo is taken away by the police.

The novel is split into five "books", each covering a different period in the characters' lives.

Book One

Book One opens in 1912 and introduces 11-year-old Francie Nolan, who lives in the Williamsburg tenement neighborhood of Brooklyn with her 10-year-old brother Cornelius ("Neeley" for short) and their parents, Johnny and Katie. Francie relies on her imagination and her love of reading to provide a temporary escape from the poverty that defines her daily existence. The family subsists on Katie's wages from cleaning apartment buildings, pennies from the children's junk-selling and odd jobs, and Johnny's irregular earnings as a singing waiter. His alcoholism has made it difficult for him to hold a steady job, and he sees himself as a disappointment to his family as a result. Francie admires him because he is handsome, talented, imaginative, and sentimental, as she is. Katie has very little time for sentiment, since she is the breadwinner of the family who has forsaken fantasies and dreams for survival.

Book Two

Book Two jumps back to 1900 and chronicles the meeting of Johnny and Katie, the teenage children of immigrants from Ireland and Austria, respectively. Although Johnny panics and begins drinking heavily when Katie becomes pregnant with first Francie and then Neeley, Katie resolves to give her children a better life than she has known, remembering her mother's insistence that they receive a good education. Kate resents Francie because the baby is constantly ill, while Neeley is more robust. Katie makes a promise to herself that her daughter must never learn of her preference for Neeley. During the first seven years of their marriage, the Nolans are forced to move twice within Williamsburg, due to public disgraces caused first by Johnny's drunkenness and later by the children's Aunt Sissy's misguided efforts at babysitting them. The Nolans then arrive at the apartment introduced in Book One.

Book Three

In Book Three, the Nolans settle into their new home, and seven-year-old Francie and six-year-old Neeley begin to attend the squalid, overcrowded public school next door. Francie enjoys learning, even in these dismal surroundings, and gets herself transferred to a better school in a different neighborhood with Johnny's support. Johnny fails in his efforts to improve the children's minds, but Katie helps Francie grow as a person and saves her life by shooting a child-rapist/murderer who tries to attack Francie shortly before her 14th birthday. When Johnny learns that Katie is pregnant once again, he falls into a depression that leads to his death from alcoholism-induced pneumonia on Christmas Day 1915. Katie cashes in the family's life insurance policies on Johnny and the children and uses that money, along with their earnings from after-school jobs, to bury Johnny and keep the family afloat in 1916. The new baby, Annie Laurie, is born that May, and Francie graduates from grade school in June. Graduation allows Francie to finally come to terms with the reality of her father’s death.

Book Four

At the start of Book Four, Francie and Neeley take jobs because there is no money to send them to high school. Francie works in an artificial flower factory, then gets a better-paying job in a press clipping office after lying about her age. Although she wants to use her salary to start high school in the fall, Katie decides to send Neeley instead, reasoning that he will only continue learning if he is forced into it, while Francie will find a way to do it on her own. Once the United States enters World War I in 1917, the clipping office rapidly declines and closes, leaving Francie out of a job. After she finds work as a teletype operator, she makes a new plan for her education, choosing to skip high school and take summer college-level courses. She passes with the help of Ben Blake, a friendly and determined high school student, but she fails the college's entrance exams. A brief encounter with Lee Rhynor, a soldier preparing to ship out to France, leads to heartbreak after he pretends to be in love with Francie, when he is in fact about to get married. In 1918, Katie accepts a marriage proposal from Michael McShane, a retired police officer who has long admired her and has become a wealthy businessman and politician since leaving the force.

Book Five

As Book Five begins in the fall of this same year, Francie, now almost 17, quits her teletype job. She is about to start classes at the University of Michigan, having passed the entrance exams with Ben's help, and is considering the possibility of a future relationship with him. The Nolans prepare for Katie's wedding and the move from their Brooklyn apartment to McShane's home. Francie pays one last visit to some of her favorite childhood places and reflects on all the people who have come and gone in her life. She is struck by how much of Johnny's character lives on in Neeley, who has become a talented jazz/ragtime pianist. Before she leaves the apartment, Francie notices the Tree of Heaven that has grown and re-sprouted in the building's yard despite all efforts to destroy it, seeing in it a metaphor for her family's ability to overcome adversity and thrive. In the habits of a neighborhood girl, Florry, Francie sees a version of her young self, sitting on the fire escape with a book and watching the young ladies of the neighborhood prepare for their dates. Francie says, "Hello, Francie", to Florry, and then, "Goodbye, Francie" as she closes the window.

In 1882, the town of Vinegaroon, Texas is run by Judge Roy Bean, who calls himself "the only law west of the Pecos." Conducting trials from his saloon, Bean makes a corrupt living collecting fines and seizing property unlawfully. Those who stand up to him are usually hanged, receiving what Bean calls "suspended sentences."

Cole Harden is a drifter accused of stealing a horse belonging to Chickenfoot, Bean's main sidekick. Harden's conviction by a jury composed of Bean's acolytes seems certain, and the undertaker waits eagerly for the verdict and hanging. Bean dismisses Harden's contention that he had bought the horse legally from another man. Noticing the judge's obsession with the English actress Lily Langtry, Harden claims to have known her intimately. He cons the judge into delaying the death sentence until Harden can send for a lock of the Langtry's hair, which he claims to have in El Paso. The delay is long enough for the real horse thief to appear and be killed.

Despite his warped sense of justice and his corrupt nature, Bean likes Harden, considering him a kindred spirit because Harden is as bold and daring as Bean was in his youth. However, Bean tries to shoot him when Harden lends his support to the homesteaders, a group led by Jane-Ellen Mathews and her father Caliphet. The struggling homesteaders have been at odds with Bean and his cattle-rancher allies for a long time. Harden tries to appeal to the judge's better nature, and he even saves Bean from an attempted lynching. When that fails, and a corn crop is burned and Mr. Mathews killed, Harden sees no choice but to take action. He is deputized by the county sheriff and procures an arrest warrant for Bean.

Arresting Bean in Vinegaroon, now renamed Langtry by the judge in honor of the actress, is impossible with all of Bean's men around. When Bean learns that Langtry will be appearing in a nearby town, a long day's ride from Vinegaroon, he has one of his men buy all of the tickets. Bean dons his full Confederate Civil War regalia and rides to see the performance with his men. He enters the theater alone to await the performance, leaving his henchmen outside.

Unknown to Bean, Harden has been waiting in the theater to arrest him. A standoff and shootout occur and Bean is fatally wounded during the gunfight. Harden carries Bean backstage to meet the woman whom he has adored for so long. As Bean stares at her, he dies.

Two years later, Harden and Jane, now married and having rebuilt the burned farm, watch as new settlers arrive in the territory.

Johnny Eager (Robert Taylor) masquerades as a taxi driver for his gullible parole officer, A. J. Verne (Henry O'Neill), but in reality, he is the ruthless head of a powerful gambling syndicate. Verne introduces him to socialite Lisbeth "Liz" Bard (Lana Turner), a sociology student. Johnny and Liz are attracted to each other, but then he discovers that she is the stepdaughter of his longtime nemesis, John Benson Farrell (Edward Arnold). As a crusading prosecutor, Farrell was responsible for sending Johnny to prison, and now as the district attorney, he has gotten an injunction preventing Johnny's expensive dog racing track from opening.

Johnny decides to use Liz as leverage against her stepfather. When she comes to see him, he has Julio (Paul Stewart), one of his underlings, burst in and pretend to try to kill him. During the faked struggle, Julio drops his gun. Lisbeth picks it up and shoots Julio when he seems to have the upper hand. Johnny then hustles her out of the room before she can realize that the gun is full of blanks and Julio's blood is actually ketchup. Later, Johnny threatens to expose her as a murderer unless Farrell removes the injunction. Farrell gives in.

Johnny is depicted as a man without a conscience. When childhood friend Lew Rankin (Barry Nelson) gets fed up with his subordinate role in the gang and starts plotting against him, Johnny murders him without the slightest qualm. He lies to his devoted girlfriend Garnet (Patricia Dane) to get her to go to Florida while he romances Liz. Mae (Glenda Farrell), a prior girlfriend, asks him to help get her incorruptible policeman husband transferred back to his old precinct because his long commute is straining their marriage. Johnny not only lies, claiming he no longer has any influence, he also hides the fact that he got the man transferred in the first place because he would not look the other way. When Jimmy Courtney (Robert Sterling), Liz's high society former boyfriend, becomes alarmed because Liz is going to pieces due to a guilty conscience, he offers Johnny all his money to leave the country and take Liz with him. Johnny cannot figure out his "angle", why he would do such a selfless thing. In fact, the only soft spot Johnny seems to have is for his intellectual, alcoholic right-hand man, Jeff Hartnett (Van Heflin), and even he is not sure why. Jeff has an insight, telling his boss that "even Johnny Eager has to have one friend."

However, when Johnny learns that Liz intends to turn herself in, he discovers the meaning of love for the first time in his life. He confesses to her that he staged the whole incident, but she does not believe him. To prove his claim, he decides to produce a live Julio, but Julio has defected to Johnny's dissatisfied partner, Bill Halligan (Cy Kendall). Johnny manages to bring Julio (at gunpoint) to Liz, but in the process he shoves Johnny and runs away. Johnny forces Liz and Courtney to flee to safety before the gunfight with Halligan and his men. Eager kills Halligan and Julio, but is spotted by a policeman as he attempts to flee and is shot down. Jeff arrives and embraces Johnny as he finally dies.

The policeman, in a twist of fate, turns out to be Mae's husband.

During the Civil War, Thad Goodwin Sr. (Charles Waldron) of Elmtree Farm, a local horse breeder, resists Capt. John Dillon (Douglass Dumbrille) and a company of Union soldiers confiscating his prize horses. He is killed by Dillon and his youngest son Peter (Bobs Watson) cries at the soldiers riding away with the horses.

75 years later, in 1938, Peter (Walter Brennan), now a crotchety old man, still resides on Elmtree Farm and raises horses with his niece Sally (Loretta Young). Dillon's grandson Jack (Richard Greene) and Sally meet, her not knowing that he was a Dillon. Sally's father, Thad Goodwin Jr., dies when his speculation on cotton drops. The Goodwins are forced to auction off nearly all their horses and Jack offers his services to Sally, as a trainer of their last prize horse, "Bessie's Boy", who is later injured.

Sally eventually loses the farm, and Mr. Dillon makes good on his original bet with Thad Jr. and offers her any two-year-old on his farm. At her uncle's insistence, she reluctantly selects "Blue Grass" instead of the favorite, "Postman", and Jack trains him for the Derby. She eventually learns of Jack's real identity and fires him as a trainer. During the race, Blue Grass runs neck and neck with the Dillon's horse Postman, but Blue Grass wins thanks to Jack's advice. Sally embraces Jack, but Peter collapses before the decoration ceremony and dies. At his funeral, Dillon eulogizes him and of the American life of the past, as "The Grand Old Man of the American Turf".

As a passenger ship sails by the bleak ruins of a deserted island, Dr. Kersaint (Thomas Mitchell) blows his former home a kiss. When a fellow passenger (Inez Courtney) asks him about the place, he tells its tragic story, segueing into a flashback.

During the colonial era in the South Pacific, the natives of the island of Manakoora are a contented lot. Terangi (Jon Hall), the first mate on an island-hopping schooner, marries Marama (Dorothy Lamour), the daughter of the chief (Al Kikume). She has a premonition and begs him not to leave, or at least take her with him on the ship's next voyage, but he makes her stay behind.

Upon reaching Tahiti, the crew goes to a bar to celebrate. When a racist white man orders them to leave, Terangi strikes him and breaks his jaw. Unfortunately, the man has strong political connections, and the governor is forced to sentence him to six months in jail, over the objections of Terangi's captain, Nagle (Jerome Cowan). Back on Manakoora, Dr. Kersaint begs recently appointed local French Governor Eugene De Laage (Raymond Massey) to have Terangi brought home to serve his sentence under parole, but De Laage refuses to compromise his stern interpretation of the law, despite the pleas of Captain Nagle, Father Paul (C. Aubrey Smith), and even his own wife (Mary Astor).

Unable to bear being confined, Terangi repeatedly tries to escape, eventually lengthening his sentence to 16 years, much to the delight of a particularly harsh jailer (John Carradine). Finally, after eight years, Terangi succeeds in escaping, but unintentionally kills a guard. He steals a canoe and returns to Manakoora after an arduous journey. At the end, he is rescued from his overturned canoe by Father Paul, who promises to remain silent.

Terangi is reunited with Marama and a daughter (Kuulei De Clercq) he has never seen before. Chief Mehevi recommends the family hide on a tabu island, where no one will look for them. However, De Laage discovers their preparations and commandeers the schooner to hunt them down.

Terangi turns back to warn his people after he sees birds fleeing the island, an unprecedented, ominous event that Marama had dreamed about many years before. A once-in-a-lifetime hurricane strikes the island. A few, among them Dr. Kersaint and his pregnant patient, weather the disaster in a canoe, while Terangi ties his family and Madame De Laage to a stout tree. The rest drown, and the island is stripped bare.

The tree floats away. Terangi later finds a war canoe in the water, which he uses to get his party to a small island. When they spot the schooner, Terangi signals it with smoke before fleeing in the canoe with his family. Governor De Laage embraces his wife, but then spots something on the water through his binoculars. Madame De Laage insists it must be a floating log; after a pause, her husband agrees with her.

In Paris, which has long been besieged by the Burgundians, François Villon is the despair of Father Villon, the priest who took him in and raised him from the age of six. Father Villon takes François to mass after his latest escapade (robbing a royal storehouse). There François spies a beautiful woman, Katherine DeVaucelles. Entranced, he tries to strike up an acquaintance, reciting one of his poems (from which the film takes its title) and pretending it was written specially for her. On the surface, she is unmoved, but when soldiers come to take him into custody, she provides him with an alibi.

The crafty King Louis XI of France is in desperate straits and suspects that there is a traitor in his court. He goes in disguise to a tavern to see who accepts an intercepted coded message from the enemy. While there, he is amused by the antics of the Villon. The rascal criticizes the king and brags about how much better he would do if he were in Louis' place. When the watch arrives to arrest Villon, a riot breaks out and Villon kills Grand Constable D'Aussigny in the brawl. But when D'Aussigny is revealed as the turncoat, the King is in two minds about what to do with Villon. As a jest, Louis rewards the poet by making him the new Constable, pretending that since nobles have failed in that role, perhaps one of the commoners whom Villon champions can do better.

Villon has fallen in love with Katherine, who is lady-in-waiting on the queen, and she with him, not recognizing him as Villon. Then Louis informs Villon that he intends to have him executed after a week. François soon finds how difficult it is to make the army attack the besieging forces, so, acting on an idea of Katherine’s, he has the King's storehouses release the army's last six months of food to the starving population of Paris—giving the army the same short schedule for attack as the people.

Villon is watched constantly and cannot escape the palace, but when the Burgundians break down the city gates, he escapes to rally the common people to rout them and the defeated enemy then lift the siege. Not knowing the part he has played, Louis has Villon arrested again. It is only when Katherine and Father Villon testify on his behalf that the King realizes what he owes François and goes personally to liberate him.

He and Villon now have some grudging respect for each other, and Villon admits to the King that Louis' job is harder than he once thought. The King on his side now feels obligated to reward Villon again. But wanting less aggravation in his life, Louis decides to pardon Villon only by exiling him from Paris. François leaves on foot, headed for the south of France, but Katherine squeezes this information from Father Villon and follows in her carriage at a discreet distance on the road, waiting for François to tire out.

Michael "Beau" Geste is the protagonist. The main narrator is his younger brother John. The three Geste brothers are portrayed as behaving according to the English upper class values of a time gone by. The Geste siblings are orphans and have been brought up by their aunt Lady Patricia at Brandon Abbas. The rest of Beau's band are mainly Isobel and Claudia (possibly the illegitimate daughter of Lady Patricia) and Lady Patricia's relative Augustus (the caddish nephew of the absent Sir Hector Brandon). While not mentioned in ''Beau Geste'', the American Otis Vanbrugh appears as a friend of the Geste brothers in a sequel novel. John and Isobel are devoted to each other and it is in part to spare her any suspicion of being a thief that he takes the extreme step of joining the French Foreign Legion (following in the steps of his elder brothers).

The inciting incident is the disappearance of a precious jewel known as the "Blue Water". Suspicion falls on the band of young people, and Beau leaves England to join the French Foreign Legion in Algeria, followed by his brothers, Digby (his twin) and John. After recruit training in Sidi Bel Abbes and some active service skirmishing with tribesmen in the south, Beau and John are posted to the small garrison of the fictional desert outpost of Fort Zinderneuf, while Digby and his American friends Hank and Buddy are sent to Tanout-Azzal to train with a mule mounted company. The commander at Fort Zinderneuf (after the death of two more senior officers) is the sadistic Sergeant Major Lejaune, who drives his abused subordinates to the verge of mutiny. An attack by Tuaregs prevents mutiny and mass desertion (only the Geste brothers and a few loyalists are against the plot). Throughout the book, Beau's behaviour is true to France and the Legion, and he dies at his post. Digby, Hank and Buddy arrive with a relief column from Tokotu that reaches Fort Zinderneuf too late. Together with John (the last man left standing at Zinderneuf) they desert and experience a long trek during which Digby is killed in a skirmish with Arabs.

After becoming separated from his friends Hank and Buddy in the desert, John returns to Brandon Abbas. The last survivor of the three brothers, he is welcomed by their aunt and his fiancée Isobel. In a letter from Beau delivered by John to Aunt Patricia, the reason for the jewel theft is revealed to have been to prevent Aunt Patricia's exposure for having secretly sold the jewel to enable her to extend relief to Sir Hector's exploited tenants.

In ''Beau Ideal'' and other sequels P. C. Wren ties loose strings together, including recording that Michael Geste's original reasons for joining the Foreign Legion were not only honour but also his doomed and impossible love for Claudia. The French officer of Spahis Major de Beaujolais, who commands the relief column at Fort Zinderneuf, is the narrator of Wren's subsequent novel Beau Sabreur.

When visiting San Francisco, Tony Patucci, an aging illiterate winegrower from the Napa Valley, sees waitress Amy Peters and falls in love. Returning home, he persuades his foreman Joe, an incorrigible womanizer, to write her a letter in Tony's name. Tony's courtship by mail culminates with a proposal, and when she requests a picture of him, he sends one of Joe. Amy accepts and goes to Napa to be married. Although horrified to discover that her prospective husband is the portly Tony, she decides to go through with the marriage. However, while Tony is in bed after an accident, Amy and Joe have an affair. Two months later, as Tony plans the wedding, she discovers that she is pregnant. Upon learning this, Tony pummels Joe, who leaves the vineyards. but forgives Amy, and insists that they still be married. But she is unable to forgive herself, so she leaves with the priest who has come to marry them, while Tony looks on, hoping that she will return one day.

Cantankerous tycoon John P. Merrick goes undercover as a shoe clerk at "Neely's", one of his New York department stores, to identify agitators trying to form a union, after seeing a newspaper picture of his employees hanging him in effigy.

In the store he takes on a new persona, Thomas Higgins. After almost failing the minimum intelligence test he is sent to join the shoe department. There he befriends fellow clerk Mary Jones and her recently fired boyfriend Joe O'Brien, a labor union organizer. As time goes on, his experiences cause him to grow more sympathetic to his workers. He also starts to fall in love with sweet-natured clerk Elizabeth Ellis.

During a beach day at Coney Island with his coworkers, John begins to see a different side of Joe after he helps him avoid an arrest at a local police station by reciting the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Afterwards John joins Joe, Elizabeth, and Mary on the beach, where he and Elizabeth nap until dark. Believing the two to be fully asleep, Joe and Mary discuss the union attempts and the future of their relationship. Unbeknownst to them, John listens in and after Joe leaves he pretends to awake, taking the opportunity to grab a list Joe dropped of employees willing to strike.

The remaining trio then travel home via subway, where John drops a card showing that his undercover persona was working for Merrick. This, along with other factors, causes Mary to come to the conclusion that John is a spy, and she tells Joe. Desperate to regain the list, Joe and Mary try unsuccessfully and they, along with John, end up in the store manager's office. Disgusted with the treatment of the employees, John berates the store manager, who is unaware of John's true identity. Emboldened by John, Mary declares that they have a list of 400 employees who will strike. The manager tricks the group into giving him the list. When they realize the manager's deceit, John and Mary take back the list and destroy it by eating it, after which Mary uses the intercom system to successfully encourage the entire store to strike.

In the following days, all of the employees picket Merrick's home. John decides to finally reveal his identity and has Mary, Elizabeth, and Joe meet him and his staff to discuss terms. They are initially unaware of his identity, but upon discovery, Joe faints, Mary screams, and Elizabeth stares up at John in disbelief as John asks her if she would be willing to go back on a statement she made about not wanting to marry a rich man. The film then cuts to a wedding party on a cruise liner, showing that there has been a joint wedding: John has married Elizabeth and Mary has married Joe. The party is made up of all of the store employees and it is shown that John has paid for all of them to take a Hawaiian vacation.

Thousands of years ago, an alien expedition came to Earth to catalogue life. After completing its task and collecting samples which included Nimrod, a being known as Light, the leader, went into slumber. By 1881, Josiah Smith gained control and kept Light in hibernation and imprisoned the creature known as Control on the ship, which is now the cellar of the house. Smith began evolving into the era's dominant life-form – the Victorian gentleman – and also took over the house. By 1883, Smith, having "evolved" into forms approximating a human and casting off his old husks as an insect would, managed to lure and capture the explorer Redvers Fenn-Cooper, brainwashing him. Utilising Fenn-Cooper's association with Queen Victoria, he plans to get close to her so that he can assassinate her and subsequently take control of the British Empire.

The TARDIS arrives at Gabriel Chase. Ace had visited the house in 1983 and had felt an evil presence. The Seventh Doctor's curiosity drives him to seek answers. He encounters Control, which has now taken on human form, and makes a deal with it. The Doctor helps it release Light. Once awake, Light is displeased by all the changes while he was asleep. Smith tries to keep his plan intact, but events are moving beyond his control. As Control tries to "evolve" into a Lady, Ace tries to come to grips with her feelings about the house, revealing that she burned it down when she felt the evil. The Doctor finally convinces Light of the futility of opposing evolution, which causes him to overload and dissipate into the surrounding house. Control's complete evolution into a Lady derails Smith's plan as Fenn-Cooper, having freed himself from Smith's brainwashing, chooses to side with her instead of him. In the end, with Smith taken captive on the ship, Control, Fenn-Cooper, and Nimrod set off in the alien ship to explore the universe.

Outside references

In the dinner scene, the Doctor says, "Who was it said Earthmen never invite their ancestors round to dinner?" This refers to Douglas Adams' ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.

Danny inherits two houses in the central coastal area of California, "just outside the old seaport town of Monterey." So, Pilon and his poor idle friends move in. One of them, the Pirate, is saving money which Pilon endeavors to steal, until he discovers that it is being collected to purchase a golden candlestick which Pirate intends to burn to honor St. Francis, for healing his sick dog, that later is run over and killed. One of Danny's houses burns down, so he allows his friends to move into the other house with him, and in gratitude Pilon tries to make life better for his friend. Things are fine at first until Danny's passion for a lovely girl named Dolores causes him to actually go to work in a fishing business. A misunderstanding caused by Pilon about a vacuum cleaner Danny had bought for the girl, enrages Danny; he becomes drunk and a bit crazy. He almost dies in an accident while interrupting the girl at her work in a cannery, but through Pilon's prayers, is restored to health. Danny then marries his sweetheart with the promise that he will become a fisherman now that Pilon has raised the money to buy him a boat. The movie's happy ending is quite different from the novel's ending, in which Danny dies after a fall.

Seven men imprisoned in the fictitious Westhofen camp (based partly on the real Osthofen concentration camp) have decided to make a collaborative escape attempt. The main character is a Communist, George Heisler; the narrative follows his path across the countryside, taking refuge with those few who are willing to risk a visit from the Gestapo, while the rest of the escapees are gradually overtaken by their hunters.

The title of the book comes from a conceit of the prison camp. The current officer in charge has ordered the creation of seven crosses from the trees nearby, to be used when the prisoners are returned – not for crucifixion, but a subtler torture: the escapees are made to stand all day in front of their crosses, and will be punished if they falter.

The crew of ''Lulubelle'', a U.S. Army M3 Lee tank attached to the British Eighth Army and commanded by Master Sergeant Joe Gunn, become separated from their unit during a general retreat from German forces after the fall of Tobruk. Heading south across the Libyan Desert to rejoin the rest of their unit, Gunn and his crew, Doyle and "Waco", come across a bombed-out field hospital, where they pick up British Army medical officer Captain Halliday, four Commonwealth soldiers and Free French Corporal Leroux. Halliday, the only officer, cedes command to the more experienced Gunn.

Riding on the tank, the group soon comes upon a Sudan Defence Force Sergeant Major Tambul and his Italian prisoner, Giuseppe. Tambul volunteers to lead them to a well at Hassan Barani. Gunn insists that they leave the Italian behind, but, after driving a few hundred feet, Gunn relents and lets Giuseppe join them.

En route, Luftwaffe pilot Captain von Schletow strafes the tank, seriously wounding Clarkson, one of the British soldiers. The German fighter aircraft is shot down and von Schletow is captured. Arriving at Hassan Barani, the group finds the well is dry, and Clarkson succumbs to his wounds.

Tambul guides them to another desert well at Bir Acroma, but it provides only a trickle of water. While the group collect as much water as they can, German scouts arrive in a half-track. Gunn captures two of the men and learns that a German mechanized battalion, desperate for water, is following close behind. Gunn persuades the Allies to make a stand to delay the Germans while Waco takes the half-track for reinforcements. The two German soldiers are released to carry back an offer to their commander to swap food for water, even though there is little water left.

When the German battalion arrives, a battle of wills begins between Gunn and the German commander, Major von Falken. By now the well has run dry, but Gunn keeps up the pretense and changes his offer to swap water for guns to buy time. The Germans reject the terms and mount several frontal attacks. Each attack is beaten back, but the nine Allied defenders are picked off one by one until only Gunn and one other are left.

During one attack, von Schletow stabs Giuseppe when the Italian refuses to help him escape and denounces fascism. Before he dies, Giuseppe manages to warn Gunn. Tambul chases von Schletow down and kills him before he can tell the Germans the truth about the well, but Tambul is shot dead. After a second parley with von Falken ends in another stalemate, von Falken has his men shoot Leroux in the back as the Frenchman returns to his own side. Gunn and his men return fire, killing von Falken.

The Germans begin what appears to be a final assault but turns into a full-blown surrender. They drop their weapons and claw across the sand towards the well. To Gunn's shock, a German shell that exploded near the well has tapped into a hidden source of water, filling the well. While the surviving Germans drink, Gunn and Bates, the only Allied survivors, disarm them. Later, as they march their prisoners east, Gunn and Bates are met by Allied troops guided by Waco. They receive news of the Allied victory at the First Battle of El Alamein, turning back Rommel's Afrika Korps.

Each level of the game features a fictional movie poster that includes the game's monsters. The plot is set in the 1950s where a fleet of alien flying saucer warships invade the Earth, causing massive damage. The scientists of the world's nations manage to create a series of secret weapons, which, when activated, let loose shock waves that short-circuit the saucers and cause them to crash. Unfortunately, the flying saucers were all fueled by a green radioactive liquid, which leaked out as they crashed. Through this, the fuel infects animals, humans, and robots, turning them into giant mutant monsters, creating a war for supremacy among them. The player acts as one of these monsters and battles against the rest in fictional cities across the globe and the remaining UFOs.

The story mode of the game starts out in Midtown Park where a giant mutant ape called Congar defeats a wave of military forces but is fought and defeated by the lead monster.

In Gambler's Gulch, the lead monster also defeats the reptilian beast, Togera. After Togera's defeat, a military class mech called Robo-47 and the military show up and attack the lead monster but are defeated as well. At a military base at Rosedale Canyon, the lead monster is confronted by a horde of irradiated giant ants and a mega robot, Goliath Prime. Prime and the ants are all defeated.

In Metro City, the military decide to test their new weapon, Mecha-Congar, on the giant mantis, Preytor, who was attacking the city. Before they could fight the lead monster appears and defeats them both. The lead monster then travels to Century Airfield and defeats the twin dragons called Raptros.

Then, at the Atomic Island power plant, the lead monster defeats a swarm of Kineticlops, living electrical monsters, by causing a nuclear meltdown. In the resulting ruins, the lead monster must battle a large, three headed plant creature called Vegon. Two Robo-47s stop a UFO attack in scenic Baytown and then try to slay the lead monster. Both are repelled and beaten. In the Pacific island of Club Caldera, the rock monsters, Magmo and Agamo fight each other with the lead monster caught in the middle. Both are beaten.

After defeating two robots, Ultra-V at the "Tsunopolis", the lead monster is abducted by a UFO that takes it back to the mothership. There the lead monster has to fend off three Zorgulons before being abducted once more when the mothership explodes, causing the UFO to crash into the North American city of Capitol. There, the alien leader Cerebulon attacks in a multi-layered tripod battle suit. After Cerebulon is defeated, the lead monster victor watches as the last part of Cerebulon, a small timid insect like creature flees. A short movie is shown about the monster's origin depending on who the player chooses. The only exceptions are Raptros the dragon and Zorgulon the alien creature who has their own ending with roar in victory.

The plot involves an alien race known as the Vortaak invading the Earth and assuming control of the planet's giant monsters, sending them to attack cities across the globe. One monster breaks free from the Vortaak's control, and battles the other monsters in order to drive off the Vortaak, and that monster is the king of the monsters, Godzilla.

''Save the Earth'' takes place two years after ''Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee''. The story involves mankind getting hold of Godzilla's DNA, known in the game as "G-Cells." The Vortaak learn of this, once again returning to Earth, controlling a vast army of monsters, including their ultimate weapon: SpaceGodzilla. The player faces down many controlled monsters in different locations. In the climax cut-scene, Godzilla confronts SpaceGodzilla in a final duel. Godzilla blasts off SpaceGodzilla's shoulder crystals causing a black hole to form. SpaceGodzilla is sucked in and apparently killed, forcing the Vortaak to retreat while Godzilla lets out a victorious roar, having saved the Earth yet again.

Bitter and cynical police detective Jim Wilson is known for beating information out of suspects and witnesses. After Wilson ignores the chief's warnings, he is relegated to a case up-state so that he might cool off. He joins a manhunt for the murderer of a young girl. The posse is led by Walter Brent, the father of the victim, who is determined to exact deadly vengeance. During a chase after the murderer is spotted, Wilson and Brent are separated from the others and track the killer to a remote house.

They find Mary Malden, a blind woman, by herself in the house. They learn that she lives with her brother, Danny. Wilson is drawn to the selfless Mary and when he learns that the killer is her brother and is mentally ill, he agrees to her request that he protect him from Brent and arrest him peacefully.

Mary secretly knows that Danny is hiding in the storm cellar. She tries to make him understand that Wilson is a friend to them and will take Danny away to be helped. On her way back to the house, Wilson confronts her. As she is explaining her brother's mental state, Danny flees the cellar.

Wilson trails Danny to a secluded shack and manages to calmly engage him in conversation. Danny rambles about the details of the murder while Wilson slowly advances and prepares to capture him. Brent then bursts in and a fight ensues between the two men. Brent's gun fires during the struggle and Danny escapes. Wilson and Brent chase Danny up a rugged mountainside, where Danny loses his footing and falls to his death. Brent carries his body to the home of a neighbor of Mary's, remorseful after realizing Danny's youth. Mary arrives, having walked from her home after hearing the gunshot. She absolves Wilson of responsibility and they walk back to her house. Wilson indicates he would like to stay with her but she insists he leave.

Wilson drives to the city as a changed man. Remembering her words about loneliness, he returns to Mary and they embrace.

Private investigator Tom Welles is contacted by Daniel Longdale, attorney for wealthy widow Mrs. Christian, whose husband has recently died. While clearing out her late husband's safe, she and Longdale find an 8mm movie which appears to depict a real murder of a girl, but Mrs. Christian wants to know for certain. Welles is instructed by Longdale and Mrs. Christian not to reproduce the snuff film in any way, and to not tell anyone else about the investigation.

After looking through missing persons files, Welles discovers the girl is Mary Ann Mathews and visits her mother, Janet, in North Carolina. She allows Welles to search her house, and he finds Mary Ann's diary, in which she says she went to Hollywood to become a film star. He asks Mrs. Mathews if she wants to know the truth, even if it is unbearable. She says that she wants to know what happened to her daughter.

In Hollywood, with the help of adult video store employee Max California, Welles delves into the world of underground (and sometimes illegal) fetish pornography. He attempts to find out if snuff films are real, or if there is anyone in this underworld who was connected to this film. Contact with sleazy talent scout Eddie Poole leads them to director Dino Velvet, whose violent pornographic films star a masked man known as "Machine" who rapes and tortures women. To gain more evidence, Welles pretends to be a client interested in commissioning a hardcore BDSM film to be directed by Velvet and starring Machine. Velvet agrees and arranges a meeting in New York City.

The meeting turns out to be an ambush. Longdale and Poole appear and hold Welles at gunpoint. It is now clear that the film was real; Mr. Christian contacted Longdale to procure a snuff film, and being unable to find one, he commissioned Velvet and Poole to make one. Velvet and Machine produce a bound and beaten Max, whom they abducted to force Welles to bring them the only surviving copy of the film. As Longdale and Welles go to Welles' car to retrieve the film, Longdale admits that he never thought Welles would get as far as he did, and just wanted to placate Mrs. Christian with the investigation. Once he delivers it, Longdale and Velvet burn it and kill California. As they are about to kill Welles, he tells them that Mr. Christian paid $1 million for the film; Velvet, Poole, and Machine received $50,000 and Longdale kept the major portion. In an ensuing fight, Velvet and Longdale are both killed; Welles wounds Machine and escapes.

Welles calls Mrs. Christian to tell her his discoveries and recommends going to the police, to which she agrees. Arriving at her estate, Welles is told that Mrs. Christian committed suicide after hearing the news. She left envelopes for the Mathews family and Welles: it contains the rest of his payment and a note reading, "Try to forget us". Welles warns his already frantic wife of the impending danger and to seek shelter in a location known only to them, and hands her his half of the money.

Welles decides to seek justice for Mary Ann by killing the remaining people involved. Welles returns to Hollywood and tracks down Poole. He takes him to the shooting location and tries to kill him, but he is hesitant. He calls Mrs. Mathews to tell her about her daughter and asks for her permission to punish those responsible. Mrs. Mathews breaks down hysterically once presented with the truth, but affirms that she loved her daughter. With that, Welles returns and beats Poole to death with his pistol, burning his body and the pornography from his car. Welles discovers Machine's address in New York, and attacks him at his home. Welles unmasks him, revealing an unremarkable, bespectacled man named George. He reveals to Welles that his sadism did not result from neglect or childhood abuse; he kills people simply because he enjoys it. They struggle, and Welles kills him.

After returning to his family, Welles breaks down in front of his wife as he tries to process all of the evil that he had seen over the course of the investigation. Months later, Welles receives a letter from Mrs. Mathews, thanking him and relating her gratitude for the fact that, in spite of everything, she and Welles were the only people who really cared about Mary Ann.

Returning to London, Simon Templar, alias "the Saint," meets and hires a reformed ex-con named Dugan while rendezvousing with Sir Richard Blake, a friend of his in British Intelligence, who recruits him to look into a (as it would turn out) suspected spy named Bruno Lang. At a party that weekend, he tails Lang to his home after meeting a beautiful, adventurous young woman named Penny Parker, who follows him after realizing who he is having been fascinated by his exploits. She helps him escape after he steals evidence against Lang from his safe.

As they flee back to London, they rescue a terrified and tortured French diplomat who had been abducted by Lang and his henchmen. Lang informs his co-conspirators of Templar's interference. Leaving Penny in Dugan's care, Templar takes the diplomat, Count Duni, to an inn and has him tended to. He reveals that his country sent him to supervise the printing of new currency and that he had been forced to authorize the secret printing of over a million pounds of it, which Lang and his partners mean to flee the country with.

Templar hands over the document he stole from Lang to Blake, meanwhile his home is visited by Kussella, another of Lang's subordinates, who Penny tails. Templar's actions have drawn the attention of his friendly rival from Scotland Yard, Inspector Teal, who he finds waiting for him when he returns home. After he leaves, Penny telephones and tells where she has tailed Kussella to, before he captures her and tells Templar to come to him alone. Rescuing her with Dugan's help, they return to the inn to find Duni murdered and Templar framed by an unknown party. Teal, however, is aware of the frame and lets Templar escape to help him pursue the true killers.

Updated by the inn-keeper that Duni had contacted a man named Stengler at his embassy shortly before he was murdered, Templar visits him while posing as Teal and tricks him into lying about Duni and unknowingly revealing his involvement with Lang, before having him trailed by Dugan, who later informs Templar and Penny that he has tailed Stengler to Lang's house and has them at gunpoint.

Before Templar and Penny can arrive, Kussella and Lang's remaining henchman arrive and knock Dugan out. When they arrive, Lang has Penny tied up and gives Templar an hour to return the evidence he stole in exchange for her and Dugan's safety. Templar disarms Lang with throwing knife and knocks him out, before rescuing Penny and Dugan. Kussella is fatally shot by mistake by one of his co-conspirators, and Templar, Dugan and Penny flee with the stolen money and Lang, leaving the latter's remaining subordinates to be caught by Teal, who has been trailing Templar.

Back at Scotland Yard, where Teal brings Stengler while pretending not to suspect him of wrongdoing, they find Templar and the others waiting in Teal's office with Blake. Teal has Lang and Stengler arrested for espionage and murder following Blake's explanation about enlisting Templar to help expose them, and Templar leaves to take Penny home before he ends up in love and married.

The Seventh Doctor and Ace visit England, where three rival factions—the Cybermen, a group of neo-Nazis, and a 17th-century sorceress named Lady Peinforte—are attempting to gain control of a statue made of a living metal, validium, that was created by Omega and Rassilon as the ultimate defence for Gallifrey.

The statue's components - a bow, an arrow, and the figure itself - must be brought together in order for it to be activated. They have been separated since 1638 when, in order to foil the first attempt by Peinforte to seize it, the Doctor launched the figure into orbit in a powered asteroid.

This asteroid has been approaching the Earth at twenty-five yearly intervals ever since, leaving a succession of disasters in its wake, and has now crash-landed near Windsor Castle.

The Doctor plays the three factions against one another and eventually appears to concede defeat to the Cyber Leader. This is just part of a carefully laid trap, and the Cybermen's fleet is totally wiped out by the statue.

The Astani people of Astara created a rift system that allows them to move between worlds, but the Shadowraiths came through the rift, drained it of its energy, and destroyed Astara. Hundreds of years later, Dark Yabu, the leader of the Shadowraiths, discovers the village of Overwood and enslaves the Valdani people that live there so they can find the wraithhearts to power the rift. Vexx attempts to resist, but he is spared from Yabu's wrath by his grandfather Vargas, who is killed in the ensuing fight. Vexx sneaks away and discovers the Astani War Talons. They bind themselves to Vexx.

When he wakes up, Vexx is in the Hall of Heroes, where previous wearers of the war talons have been entombed. An old man named Darby appears and informs him that it was he who carried Vexx to the Hall, thinking that the young boy was dead. He also tells Vexx that Yabu completely destroyed the village and that Vexx and Darby are the only ones left. Darby, however, is too old to fight, so he instructs Vexx to collect the wraithhearts and use them to power the rift in order to find and stop Yabu before he opens the gate to his own world. Before Vexx departs, Darby warns him that the Shadowraiths are shapeshifters and to "trust no one along your journey".

After collecting several wraithhearts, Vexx meets up with Darby again inside the Landspire, and the two of them encounter Reia, the last remaining Astani warrior, who is also the narrator of the game. Reia exposes Darby, who turns out to be Dark Yabu in disguise. Both Reia and Vexx try to attack Yabu but he escapes, taking Reia's magical staff with him. It is revealed that by collecting the wraithhearts, Vexx was actually helping Yabu power the gate to his own world. Since the only way to close the rift is with Reia's staff, Vexx has to activate the rest of the gates and catch up to Yabu to get it back.

After collecting 60 wraithhearts, Vexx finds Yabu in the Shadow Realm, and the two of them fight one last time. During the battle, Vexx manages to take Yabu's amulet, which gives him an extra dose of power. Vexx ultimately wins and retrieves the staff, but Yabu's death causes the platform on which he and the portal back to Astara stand to begin to crumble. Unable to get back through the portal, he throws the staff through, successfully closing the rift and thus saving Astara, but also trapping himself in the shadow realm. He is last seen roaming the desolate, wraith-infested lands.

Set in the historical Charenton Asylum, ''Marat/Sade'' is almost entirely a "play within a play". The main story takes place on 13 July 1808; the play directed by the Marquis de Sade within the story takes place sixteen years earlier, during the French Revolution, culminating in the assassination (13 July 1793) of Jean-Paul Marat, then quickly brings the audience up to date (1808). The actors are the inmates of the asylum; the nurses and supervisors occasionally step in to restore order. The bourgeois director of the hospital, Coulmier, supervises the performance, accompanied by his wife and daughter. He is a supporter of the post-revolutionary government led by Napoleon, in place at the time of the production, and believes the play he has organised to be an endorsement of his patriotic views. His patients, however, have other ideas, and they make a habit of speaking lines he had attempted to suppress, or deviating entirely into personal opinion. They, as people who came out of the revolution no better than they went in, are not entirely pleased with the course of events as they occurred.

The Marquis de Sade, the man after whom sadism is named, did indeed direct performances in Charenton with other inmates there, encouraged by Coulmier. De Sade is a main character in the play, conducting many philosophical dialogues with Marat and observing the proceedings with sardonic amusement. He remains detached and cares little for practical politics and the inmates' talk of right and justice; he simply stands by as an observer and an advocate of his own nihilistic and individualist beliefs.

L.C. Moffat is a strong-willed English school teacher working in a poverty-stricken coal mining village in late 19th century Wales. She struggles to win the local Welsh miners over to her English ways, and an illiterate teenager by the name of Morgan Evans eventually graduates with honours.

Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) arrives on a bus in San Pablo, a small rural town in New Mexico, during its annual fiesta. He plans to confront and blackmail a mobster named Frank Hugo (Fred Clark) as retribution for the death of his best friend Shorty. He unpacks a Colt .45 pistol from his luggage, sticks it in his waistband, places a check which incriminates Hugo in locker 250, and hides the locker key behind a framed map in the bus depot waiting room using a piece of chewing gum.

Because of the fiesta, Gagin cannot find a room at the hotel by the bus station. He is directed to the non-tourist side of the town. At the merry-go-round there, he meets Pila (Wanda Hendrix), who takes him to the La Fonda Hotel and gives him a "charm of Ishtam" that she says will protect him.

At the hotel, Gagin uses a ruse to find out that Frank Hugo is in room 315. Gagin comes, uninvited, into the hotel room, and proceeds to knock out Jonathan (Richard Gaines), Hugo's private secretary. Marjorie Lundeen (Andrea King), a sophisticated female acquaintance of Hugo's, comes in and uses her wiles trying to learn more about him. When the telephone rings, Gagin answers and impersonates a bell boy. Speaking with Hugo, he learns that Hugo will not be there that day. Gagin leaves the room and in the hotel lobby, he is accosted by FBI agent Bill Retz (Art Smith). In his conversation with Gagin, Retz recounts the plot so far. Retz takes Gagin to lunch and tells Gagin to lay off with his plot for revenge on Frank Hugo.

Still looking for a room, Gagin ends up at the Cantina de las Tres Violetas, where Pila is inexplicably sitting outside. Going inside, Gagin finds himself to be the only non-Hispanic in the bar. He buys himself a large whiskey and pays for it with a twenty-dollar bill. The barkeep can only make change for ten dollars and the situation is resolved by Pancho (Thomas Gomez), who proposes that Gagin buy ten dollars' worth of drinks for everyone in the bar.

Gagin, having spent twenty dollars at the bar, accompanies Pancho back to his tiovivo (carousel) where Pancho puts him up for the night. Pila arrives at the merry-go-round and ends up sleeping in one of the seats on the carousel. Retz also shows up and warns Gagin of the toughs and tells him that if he could readily find Gagin, so will the toughs.

The next morning, Gagin goes back to the hotel where he meets Frank Hugo, who wears a hearing aid. Gagin tells Hugo that he has check number 6431 and proceeds to lay out the blackmail. They agree to meet that evening at the Tip Top Cafe, where Hugo will pay Gagin the thirty thousand dollars for the incriminating check.

Retz meets Gagin and "officially" asks for the evidence, which Gagin refuses to hand over. Gagin takes Pila to lunch and they are interrupted by the arrival of Marjorie Lundeen. She lays out a scheme for how to shake down Frank Hugo for even more money, but Gagin does not go along with Marjorie's plan.

After the lunch, Gagin returns to the bus depot where he retrieves the check and follows the fiesta crowd to the Tip Top Cafe. He meets with Hugo, who is having dinner with his associates. Hugo tells Gagin that the bank messenger with the money will be late. Marjorie invites Gagin to dance with her, and in order to not be seen by Hugo, she walks Gagin outside to a dark alley. There, she tells him that there is no messenger, but someone else. The response to Gagin's query as to who is coming is two toughs who jump him. In the ensuing fight, one of them stabs Gagin in the right shoulder with a knife. Retz finds the two toughs in the alley, one dead and one with a broken arm, and confronts Hugo at the dining table. While the police search the area, Pila finds Gagin in the bushes, pulls the knife out of his back, and together they make their way back to Pancho and the merry-go-round.

Two toughs come to the tiovivo. With Gagin hidden in one of the seats by Pila, and children riding the carousel, the toughs proceed to severely beat Pancho, who does not divulge the presence of Gagin. Gagin, whose health and mental state are failing, agrees to go with Pila back by bus to her village of San Melo. While they are waiting in the Tres Violetas, Gagin gives the check to Pila, who hides it in her bustier. They are found by Locke and Marjorie Lundeen. When Locke approaches the now passed out Gagin, Pila hits him with a bottle and they make their escape, leaving Marjorie to find Locke lying on the floor the cantina.

Gagin makes his way back to the La Fonda Hotel, where Pila finds him outside room 315. The door is opened by one of Hugo's toughs and the duo is brought into the room, where Frank Hugo, Marjorie Lundeen, Jonathan, and the two toughs are present. Hugo begins to question the now incoherent Gagin, who does not remember where the check is. He is beaten by one of the toughs, who then proceed to also beat Pila. Retz arrives, disarms the toughs, breaks Hugo's hearing aid, and ultimately gets the check from Gagin.

At a two-dollar breakfast the next day with Retz, Gagin refuses to eat. Retz tells Gagin that he should say goodbye to Pila and Pancho, and together they return to the merry go round. Gagin bids adieu to Pancho, and then, uncomfortably, to Pila, to whom he returns the Ishtam charm. As Retz and Gagin leave, Pila, who had been somewhat of an outcast with her peers, is surrounded by them. She recounts the story of her adventure and realizes that now she is the center of attention among her group.

Stephen Fitzgerald, a newspaper reporter from New York, meets a leprechaun and beautiful young Nora, while traveling in Ireland. When he returns to his fiancée Frances, and her wealthy father David C. Augur in the midst of a political campaign in New York, he finds that the leprechaun and the young woman are now in the big city as well. Stephen is torn between the wealth he might enjoy in New York or returning to his roots in Ireland.

Art Bechstein is the son of a mob money launderer, who wants him to succeed in a legitimate career. (He has even set up a job for him at the end of the summer in Baltimore at a financial firm managed by one of his old friends.) When Art graduates from the University of Pittsburgh, he has only a vague hope for a summer of adventure before he commits to the rest of his life. Bechstein almost immediately meets a charming young gay gentleman, Arthur Lecomte, and his friend, a highly literate biker, Cleveland Arning, who become his partners in many summer adventures. Art begins a relationship with an insecure young woman named Phlox Lombardi. As Art's attraction to Arthur grows, it destabilizes both relationships and reveals he may be bisexual. Art is also troubled when Cleveland begins moving deeper into the city's organized crime families, drawing him closer to his father's dangerous mob connections. Art's relationships with his dad, friends, and lovers become more and more entangled, causing a series of fallings out and unforeseen consequences.

Lew Marsh is a good newspaper reporter with a bad habit; he drinks too much and is fired. He also loses the woman he loves, colleague Paula Arnold, after passing out drunk one day in the street.

An ex-alcoholic, Charley Dolan, takes pity on Lew, offering him a room at his apartment and finding him a job with a construction crew. Lew is tempted to have a drink when he learns that Paula has married another man, Boyd Copeland, the nephew of Lew's former boss at the newspaper, John Ives.

Ives gives the newly sober Lew a second chance at the paper. Many months pass, during which time Lew not only remains sober but is helpful to others with the same weakness. This comes to the attention of Ives, who is worried about Boyd's increased drinking.

Lew learns that Boyd has been unfaithful to Paula, taking up with a singer named Maria who is loved by a jealous gangster named Garr. To help, Lew invites Boyd to come live with Charley and him. He also helps the lonely Paula return to work for the newspaper, secretly hoping that she will fall in love with him again.

Garr and a henchman rig a car in a bid to murder Boyd, but end up killing Charley by mistake. A depressed Boyd feels responsible and tries to commit suicide. Boyd gets in touch with Maria, but they are being followed by Garr and another thug. At gunpoint, Boyd and Lew are ordered to drink by Garr, who intends to make their murders look accidental, but they get the upper hand on Garr and it is the mobster who is killed.

Boyd is able to persuade Paula to give their marriage another try. Lew is pleased for them, satisfied to be sober and working again.

On the coast of Cornwall, the boy Philip Ashley is raised by his older and wealthy cousin Ambrose on a large estate. When the weather in Cornwall threatens Ambrose's health, he leaves the estate for a warmer climate, making his way to Florence and leaving Philip behind with his godfather, Nick Kendall. In Florence, Ambrose decides to marry his cousin Rachel. However, back in Cornwall, Philip receives disturbing letters from Ambrose, complaining of Rachel's treatment as well as that of the physicians taking care of him. Mr. Kendall believes Ambrose unsound of mind, raising the possibility that he has inherited his deceased father's brain tumour. When Philip travels to Florence personally, he meets a man named Guido Rainaldi, who tells him Ambrose has died of a brain tumour, producing a death certificate as proof, and that his will left the Cornwall estate to him upon his 25th birthday. Rachel, who left Florence the day before Philip arrived, has inherited nothing and has made no claim on the estate. Unconvinced, Philip suspects Rachel of murder and vows revenge.

Months later, after returning to Cornwall, Philip is informed by Mr. Kendall that Rachel has arrived in Cornwall for a visit. He invites her to the house and discovers she is different from what he imagined – she is beautiful, ladylike, and kind. At the end of the weekend, when she intends to leave, he shows her Ambrose's letters and admits he planned to accuse her of wrongdoing; but since he no longer suspects her, he throws the letters in the fireplace to demonstrate his faith in her. He later instructs his executor, Mr. Kendall, to award Rachel an extraordinarily generous allowance of £5,000 per annum, suggesting the money is hers anyway. Rachel responds with gratitude and warmth and stays at the estate for an extended period, despite gossip. Yet when Mr. Kendall tells Philip that Rachel has overdrawn her accounts, and that in Florence she was notorious for "loose" living, Philip rejects Nick's warnings and instead turns over the entire estate to Rachel on his 25th birthday. When the day arrives, he solicits from her a vague romantic promise, which she gives, and they passionately kiss. However, the next day when Philip announces to his friends that he and Rachel are engaged to be wed, Rachel dismisses the announcement as lunacy. Rachel later tells Philip that her promise did not mean marriage, that she will never marry him, and she only showed him love the night before because of the wealth he gave her.

Emotionally devastated, Philip succumbs to bouts of fever and delirium, but Rachel nurses him back to health. In his fever, Philip imagines a wedding with Rachel, and wakes up three weeks later convinced they are married, and surprised to hear from the servants that she intends to move back to Florence. Before she leaves, Philip becomes convinced that Rachel is attempting to poison him and that she indeed murdered Ambrose. So great is his anger toward Rachel that he neglects to warn her about a foot bridge in need of repair at the edge of the estate. Instead, Philip and his friend Louise secretly rummage through Rachel's room for a letter from Rainaldi, assuming it will incriminate Rachel. Instead, upon discovering and reading the letter, they find out that Rainaldi merely discussed Rachel's affections for Philip and suggests she take Philip with him when visiting Florence. In the meantime, Philip finds Rachel has indeed suffered a fatal accident while crossing the unrepaired foot-bridge. With her last words, she asks Philip why he did not warn her of the danger. She then dies, leaving Philip to wonder for the rest of his life about his own implicit guilt as to the death of the innocent Rachel.

Boone Caudill is a young man who lives in Kentucky with his family as people are pushing further and further west in the Americas. (Boone is supposedly named after Daniel Boone, who is credited with finding Kentucky.) Boone's father is physically abusive to not only his mother, but also his brother and him. One night, his father begins to beat him after Boone had caused trouble in town, and Boone hits his father over the head with a stick from the wood pile. Knowing that his father is seriously injured, possibly even dead, he goes back to the house and steals his father's prize rifle. As a parting gift, his mother offers him a roast chicken they were going to have for supper. With that, Boone runs away.

After thinking back to his childhood, he remembers his maternal uncle Zeb Calloway. The uncle was a mountain man, frequently thought of as uncivilized by his mother and father. Boone decides this is the life for him and sets off for the West and the mountains. As he walks, he meets a man with a cart and mule named Jim Deakins, who admits to Boone that he has always wanted something more from life and decides that Boone has the right idea. As they arrive into the next city, Jim decides to sell his mule and wagon for some money to travel and join Boone. However, as they get into town, Boone's father has just arrived and is intent on getting his rifle back. Boone jumps in the nearby river to get away, as Jim shouts from the banks of the river for Boone to wait for him.

As Boone sets out again, he meets another traveler, Jonathan Bedwell. Bedwell gets Boone drunk and then steals his rifle, to Boone's horror. He continues to travel, now without the rifle, though intent on getting it back. However, he sees Bedwell outside of another town, and attacks him. The sheriff had been nearby and breaks them up. The sheriff takes them to court, and after a quick trial the more sophisticated Bedwell is given the rights to the rifle, as everyone believes it is his anyway. Boone is sentenced to spend time in the jail, but he refuses to admit that he did anything wrong so the sheriff flogs him in hopes of getting a confession.

Meanwhile, Jim Deakins is traveling up the same path that Boone had taken. After getting the story out of the locals, he pretends to merely be curious about the goings-on. As he gets the sheriff progressively drunker, he steals the keys to the jail and sets Boone free. They go back to the inn where everyone had been drinking. Boone steals a horse and they flee the area for St. Louis.

Boone and Deakins travel for a while before they get recruited onto a French keelboat traveling up the Missouri River. There the boys meet Dick Summers, the boat's hunter and guide, who becomes a role model for Boone in particular, whose explosive temper has gotten into more trouble than he's been able to completely avoid. On the boat, the captain has a Native American princess named Teal Eye. The captain and mate have strictly forbidden any of the crew to talk to her, as they believe it will help relations with the Blackfoot chief for them to bring him back his daughter and they don't want to bring back damaged goods. Boone sneaks looks at the girl, almost instantly falling in love with her. When they reach Blackfoot country, Teal Eye disappears one night. Soon after, the Blackfeet attack and destroy the keelboat and kill everyone on her except the three friends Caudill, Deakins, and Summers, who manage to escape.

A good portion of the novel involves Boone Caudill becoming a fur trapper and dealing with the hardships as he moves further from civilization. Dick Summers realizes that he is too old to continue the life of a mountain man and leaves Jim Deakins and Boone Caudill to return to his land in Missouri to farm.

Boone continues to be obsessed with Teal Eye, and eventually he is able to find her again. By that time large numbers of the Blackfeet have been killed by smallpox. With gifts Boone manages to convince Teal Eye's brother, now the chief since the death of their father, to let him have Teal Eye, who uses sign language to tell Boone that she loves him. Jim Deakins, Teal Eye and Boone live peacefully within the tribe, Boone finally feeling as if he's found a place to fit in. Teal Eye eventually gets pregnant, to Boone's joy. However, when the child is born, he is blind. He also has red hair, like Boone's closest friend Jim Deakins. Believing Teal Eye cheated on him, Boone is crushed. He proceeds to kill Jim Deakins and leave Teal Eye, fleeing back east.

When Boone arrives back in Kentucky, his mother notes that there have been red heads in their family. Boone cannot tolerate his confusion and the settled life and mores in Kentucky and, depending on one's point of view, either seduces or rapes a young neighbor girl, who despite her sobbing asks when they'll get married. That same night he flees west: "He didn't realize he was running until he saw [his dog] trotting to keep up."

Boone stops at Dick Summers's farm in Missouri. In a theme repeated throughout Guthrie's trilogy, Boone refers to the destruction of the pristine West the first whites had known: "It's all sp'iled, I reckon, Dick. The whole caboodle." Boone blurts out that he killed Jim Deakins: "This here hand done it. ... I kilt Jim." Rather than spend even that one night with Dick Summers, Boone Caudill flees out the door.

Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos) is a Mexican-American teenager who lives in the small California town of San Juno. During an annual event called Bass Night held at the town beach, he wanders onto the beach, which is off-limits to Mexican Americans. There he meets a non-Hispanic girl he knows from high school, but she has a weak heart due to rheumatic fever and dies suddenly, and Angel is arrested.

On the grounds that her heart attack was caused by Angel's attempt to seduce her—which, as they were minors, would have been statutory rape even if consensual—he is charged with felony murder. A racist mob attempts to break Angel out of jail and lynch him, but the warden persuades them to stop by promising that the youth will be executed after a fair trial.

David Blake (Glenn Ford) is a law professor at the state university. He is told he must stop teaching until he has had some courtroom experience. Rejected by many law firms, he finds work at a small one run by Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy). Castle wants to defend Angel and agrees to hire Blake to handle the case. Castle and Angel's mother (Katy Jurado) travels to New York City to raise money to defend Angel. Castle leaves his law clerk Abbe Nyle (Dorothy McGuire) to help Blake, and they fall in love.

Detectives working for Castle's firm uncover an attempt to tamper with the jury on behalf of the prosecution, but a new jury panel is called. Over a weekend break during jury selection, Castle calls Blake to New York to join him at a fundraising rally. Blake quickly realizes that Castle is primarily using the case as a propaganda and fundraising tool for a Communist group. Insulted at being used, Blake returns to San Juno to see the trial through to the end and represent Angel's interests.

Blake's trial strategy is to rebut the prosecution's case sufficiently that he does not need to present a defense. However, at the last moment, Castle returns and, using his influence on Angel's mother, threatens Castle with removal unless Angel testifies. Blake realizes that Castle wants the teen subjected to a harsh cross-examination that will ensure his conviction and execution; he then will be a martyr, and Castle will be able to use the case as a fundraising tool for the Communist Party.

Blake remains on the case, but the cross-examination goes as poorly as feared. Chavez is found guilty, and as the jury did not suggest leniency, the death penalty will be automatic. Castle then does have Blake fired to keep him from speaking during sentencing, but he arrives anyway and requests and receives amicus status.

Blake now says that, because the charge of murder was based on a technicality, it is appropriate for the judge to apply another technicality, Chavez's status as a minor, in sentencing. Instead of being hanged, the boy can simply be sent to reform school. When the prosecutor agrees that this would be fair, the African-American judge (Juano Hernandez) accepts the suggestion. He then sentences Castle, who has tried to race-bait him during Blake's argument, to 30 days in jail for contempt.

Blake and Abbe Nyle leave the court together.

Insecure, alcoholic playboy Kyle and his self-destructive sister Marylee are the children of Texas oil baron Jasper Hadley. Spoiled by their familial wealth and crippled by their personal demons, neither is able to sustain a personal relationship. Marylee has long been in love with Kyle's childhood friend Mitch Wayne, who is now a geologist for the Hadley Oil Company, but he thinks of her like a sister. She responds to his repeated rejections by pursuing many brief physical relationships with various local men. Kyle continually seeks the approval of his father, who instead has long admired Mitch's humbleness and work ethic over that of his own children.

Kyle and Mitch take a business trip to New York City, where they meet Lucy Moore, an aloof secretary who works at the Hadley Company's Manhattan offices. While Lucy initially expresses interest in Mitch, it is Kyle who begins to court her. Lucy's cool demeanor fails to deter Kyle, and he invites her to accompany him on his private plane to Miami, which she accepts. After the trip, Kyle impulsively asks Lucy to marry him, and she agrees. The two return to Texas after a whirlwind honeymoon, and Lucy proves to be a stabilizing influence on his life throughout the first year of their marriage. Meanwhile, Marylee attempts to forge a romantic relationship with Mitch, whom she vows to marry, though Mitch secretly longs to be with Lucy.

Shortly after Kyle and Lucy's first wedding anniversary, Kyle learns from his doctor that he has a low sperm count and could be infertile. This news sends him into a deep depression, and he begins drinking heavily, at one point becoming severely intoxicated at the local country club and embarrassing Lucy. At the Hadley estate, Jasper confides in Mitch about his disappointment in his children, who he feels are reckless and irresponsible. Moments later, Marylee arrives at the house, escorted by police following a lovers' quarrel. That night, a defeated Jasper loses his grip on the railing and tumbles down the long front hall staircase. Mitch turns him over: He is dead. Jasper's death further destabilizes Kyle, and Lucy unsuccessfully attempts to help him overcome his self-loathing.

Mitch informs Lucy that he plans to quit his job at the Hadley Oil Company and relocate to Iran. Mitch drives Lucy to a doctor's appointment, where she learns that she is pregnant; the doctor also informs her about his prior diagnosis of Kyle's infertility. That night, during a dinner with Mitch and Marylee, Lucy reveals her pregnancy to Kyle. Assuming Mitch is the father and that he and Lucy are having an affair, Kyle enters a drunken rage and assaults Lucy, but is stopped by Mitch, who forces him out of the house. The attack results in Lucy suffering a miscarriage that night. Meanwhile, an emasculated, inebriated Kyle visits the local tavern before returning to the house brandishing a pistol, intent on murdering Mitch. Marylee attempts to stop him, and, during the struggle over the gun, the weapon discharges, killing Kyle.

Resentful of Mitch's love for Lucy, Marylee attempts to coerce Mitch into marrying her by threatening to tell police he murdered Kyle. Mitch denies her, and, at the inquest, she first testifies that Mitch shot Kyle, but then tearfully changes her story and describes events as they really occurred. Mitch and Lucy leave the Hadley home together. Marylee is left to mourn the death of her brother and run the company alone.

Journalism instructor Erica Stone asks journalist James Gannon to speak to her night school class. He turns down the invitation via a nasty letter to her. His managing editor, however, orders him to accept the assignment. He arrives late to find Stone reading aloud his letter and mocking him in front of her class.

Humiliated, he decides to join the class as a student in order to show up Stone and poses as a wallpaper salesman. The instructor is somewhat intrigued by this charming older man, whom she finds an exceptional student. Gannon continues his ruse and becomes attracted to Stone. He finds he has to contend with Dr. Pine, as well as his own girlfriend, Peggy DeFore, a nightclub singer. When Stone discovers Gannon's deception, she immediately calls off their relationship. Dr. Pine convinces her to give Gannon another chance.

In the end, Jim and Erica have come to understand, and partially adopt, the other's point of view.

The story follows Fyodor, the patriarch of the Karamazov family, and his sons. When he tries to decide on an heir, the tensions among the brothers run high, leading to infighting and murder.

Newlywed Kate Judson Lawrence (Diane Brewster) is distraught to discover on her wedding night that her upper-class Philadelphia Main Line husband, William (Adam West) never really wanted to marry her. ("It was my mother who wanted this marriage, to give her a grandson. But I can't love you, Kate, I can't love anyone").

After William leaves her that night, she seeks comfort from longtime working-class friend and former beau Mike Flanagan (Brian Keith). The next day, Kate learns that William died of suicide in a car wreck. She gives birth to a son, Anthony Judson "Tony" Lawrence, and raises him in light of his last name.

Years later, Tony (Paul Newman) is a smart, ambitious college student working his way through school as a construction worker with his sights on becoming a lawyer. One day, he encounters socialite Joan Dickinson (Barbara Rush) when she has a minor car accident. They soon fall in love, though Joan is expected by nearly everyone in her lofty social circle to marry millionaire Carter Henry (Anthony Eisley). Their mutual friend, Chester "Chet" Gwynn (Robert Vaughn), warns her not to let social pressure separate her from the one she loves as it did him.

They decide to elope. However, Joan's father Gilbert Dickinson (John Williams) persuades Tony to postpone the wedding by offering him invaluable career help and a job at the highly esteemed law firm of which he is a full partner. Believing Tony has allowed himself to be bought, a disillusioned Joan sails to Europe. When Carter follows her, she marries him. Devastated and angry, Tony realizes that Joan's father wanted her to marry into another wealthy family, and only offered Tony help with his career in the hope of breaking them up. Tony then devotes himself to working his way up the social ladder and learning the game of the wealthy.

Fellow student Louis Donetti (Paul Picerni) tells Tony about a wonderful opportunity he has to assist John Marshall Wharton (Otto Kruger) in writing a law book. Tony becomes acquainted with Wharton's much younger wife Carol (Alexis Smith) and steals the job from his classmate. Living and working at Wharton's mansion, Tony impresses his employer with his expertise. Carol becomes attracted to him. She comes to his bedroom one night, but he cunningly defuses the dangerous situation by asking her to divorce her husband and marry him, knowing that she will be unwilling to do that.

Wharton offers Tony a job at his own prestigious firm. Tony accepts, deciding to specialize in the relatively new area of tax law, where there is more opportunity for rapid advancement. When the Korean War starts, interrupting his career, Tony serves as a JAG officer. Others are not as fortunate. Chet loses an arm in combat, and Carter Henry is killed.

Upon returning home, Tony gets a lucky break. Forced to work over the Christmas holiday, he is available when the very rich Mrs. J. Arthur Allen (Billie Burke) needs her will amended. With his specialized knowledge, he shows her how to avoid paying a great deal of taxes. Mrs. Allen responds by designating Tony to manage her finances, instead of her longtime lawyer Gilbert Dickinson. Tony also begins mending his relationship with Joan. Success after success follows, and Tony becomes well known and respected by the Philadelphia elite.

One night, Tony is called to the police station to pick up Chet, his disheveled, drunken friend. Donetti (now a public prosecutor) has Chet taken into custody and charged with the first-degree murder of Morton Stearnes (Robert Douglas), Chet's uncle and tight-fisted guardian of his inheritance. Chet insists on Tony defending him, fearing that his relatives, particularly family patriarch Dr. Shippen Stearnes (Frank Conroy), are more interested in avoiding a scandal than proving his innocence. Despite having no experience with criminal law, Tony reluctantly agrees. His work is further complicated when Shippen Stearnes threatens to reveal that Tony's real father is Mike Flanagan if Tony embarrasses the Stearnes clan. When Joan offers to hire a reliable attorney, Tony realizes that she fears that he has sold out once again.

At the trial, Tony discredits the testimony of George Archibald (Richard Deacon), Morton Stearnes' butler. He gets Shippen to admit that Morton had a brain tumor and was mentally depressed, and that he might have committed suicide. The jury finds Chet not guilty. After the trial, Tony and Joan reconcile.

Abe Reles (Peter Falk) and Bug Workman (Warren Finnerty), two killers from Brooklyn's Brownsville district, meet in the Garment District to meet with Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, kingpin of an organized crime mob, who hires them as the syndicate's hit men.

Their first job is to kill Walter Sage (Morey Amsterdam), a resort owner who has been holding back slot machine profits from Lepke. To get close to Sage, Reles forces singer Joey Collins (Stuart Whitman), an old crony of Sage who owes Reles money, to help him. Reles and his henchman kill Sage. Reles visits Joey and threatens to kill him and his dancer wife Eadie (May Britt) if they tell anyone about the murder. Eadie throws Reles out. Reles later returns to the apartment when Joey is gone and brutally rapes her. Despite her urging, Joey refuses to run away, and this causes him and Eadie to split.

Reles continues to make assassinations at Lepke's direction. Reles reconciles with the couple by giving them a luxurious apartment filled with stolen goods. Under police pressure, Lepke hides from the police at Joey and Eadie's new apartment. He treats Eadie like a maid.

District Attorney Burton Turkus (Henry Morgan) takes over the law enforcement campaign against Murder, Inc., enlisting local Brownsville police detective Tobin (Simon Oakland). Lepke orders the death of the entire Brownsville gang as well as Joey and Eadie. Eadie visits Turkus and becomes an informant as does Joey. He then confronts Reles, who has been arrested, in his cell, and threatens to testify against him. In fear of this testimony, Reles agrees to testify against Lepke in exchange for reduced charges. He provides a detailed account of the activities of Murder, Inc.

Turkus puts Joey and Reles in protective custody and hides them at the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island. Eadie comes to visit Joey, imploring him to testify against Lepke. Joey is reluctant, fearing the mob will kill Eadie in revenge. Despondent, Eadie slips her police escort and wanders alone on the beachfront, where she is murdered. Later that night, Reles is thrown out the window by an assassin. Joey avenges his wife's death by testifying against Lepke, who is executed.

Dave the Dude, a very successful New York City gangster, has one superstition: he believes that the apples he buys from alcoholic street peddler Apple Annie bring him luck. Annie assures the Dude that his latest purchase is especially lucky. He then meets Elizabeth "Queenie" Martin, the daughter of a recently murdered friend and deeply indebted nightclub owner. Queenie offers to pay him $5 a week from her cashier's salary toward the $20,000 owed him. Instead, trusting Annie's claim, he decides to make Queenie a nightclub star. To the astonishment of his right-hand man, "Joy Boy", he succeeds, and Queenie is able to pay off all her father's creditors after two years, just as Prohibition ends.

Dave has an important meeting with Steve Darcie, aka "Mr. Big", a very powerful underworld boss from Chicago, to decide whether to allow Dave to control the New York territory in exchange for $50,000. Dave counters by demanding $100,000 "as a token of good faith".

Meanwhile, Annie has a daughter named Louise, whom she sent to Europe as a baby. In her letters to Louise, she masquerades as wealthy socialite Mrs. E. Worthington Manville, sending Louise money she gets from the Dude and various "godparents" (beggars and panhandlers). Now grown up, Louise is bringing her Spanish fiancé Carlos and his father, Count Alfonso Romero, to meet her. Annie has been pretending she resides in a luxurious hotel (writing her letters on stolen hotel stationery) and has Louise's letters mailed there intercepted for her by an employee. However, the employee is fired when this is found out.

Dave's girlfriend Queenie insists he help Annie continue her charade. Dave reluctantly goes along, worried that if his luck would run out otherwise. Queenie has the bedraggled Annie made up to look like a sophisticated socialite, while Dave borrows an out-of-town friend's luxurious penthouse suite, complete with a butler - Hudgins - and arranges for cultured pool hustler "Judge" Henry G. Blake to pose as Annie's husband.

When the Dude keeps postponing finalizing the deal with Mr. Big to help Annie, Joy Boy becomes increasingly exasperated and frightened. Dave manages to engineer a lavish reception, with New York's mayor and governor as guests, the night before Louise and her impressed future husband and father-in-law sail back to Europe, none the wiser about her mother's real identity. Mr. Big agrees to the Dude's terms, but the Dude decides to marry Queenie and settle down.

David Mitchell (Richard Chamberlain), a widowed lawyer in a small city in New Mexico, is appointed by Judge Tucker to defend Ben Brown (Nick Adams) who has been charged with murder. Norris Bixby, an ambitious local prosecutor, has been assigned to try the case, hoping to fill the shoes of Art Harper (Claude Rains), a famed local prosecutor as well as David's friend and mentor, who is retired.

Mitchell goes to see Art Harper that night to ask for advice and receives a pep-talk from Harper, demanding he use every legal trick in the book to defend his new client. They are interrupted by Susan (Joan Blackman), Harper's daughter, who has romantic feelings for David and who has arrived back in town from Chicago.

During dinner Mitchell says that Ben Brown confessed to the killing and that the prosecution is asking for the gas chamber. He knows that Brown is unlikely to get a fair trial in town, and even he confesses to having preconceived notions about him.

Harper says he played a role in Mitchell's being appointed as the defense on the case, and that while he himself is not healthy enough to defend the case personally, he will help Mitchell try to obtain justice for the accused. Susan also volunteers to be his legal secretary, hoping to spend time with Mitchell.

The next morning, Mitchell goes to the prison to see his new client. He runs into Ben's wife, Laura-Mae Brown (Joey Heatherton), who turned her husband in and who reveals that she despises her husband, and "hopes he croaks," claiming Ben frequently beat her.

She says he murdered a man in a bungled robbery attempt, then fled in the man's car. She also claims that her husband is a compulsive liar and that Mitchell didn't run into her by chance; Bixby wanted her to talk to him, to make it appear the trial will be fair. Despite what his wife said about him, Ben appears to be only concerned with his wife's freedom, claiming he wants her to have a good lawyer. Ben says that he was starved, threatened, and beaten into signing the confession. He also reveals that a second confession was sought and that parts of the first were purposely left off, including Ben's assertion that the murdered man, Cole Clinton, an off-duty police officer, was committing adultery with his wife before the murder.

Mitchell and Harper research New Mexico law, and find a precedent which states that a murder that occurs during the adultery of a man's spouse is deemed justifiable homicide. Mitchell also reveals that the entire jury list is consisting of friends of Clinton, who was a popular man in town. Despite this, they feel that they finally have a solid defense for the case. After Harper goes to bed, Susan tells Mitchell she loves him.

The next morning, Mitchell, Morris Bixby, and Judge Tucker arrive to pick the jury. Mitchell and Bixby argue over the fairness of the case, and when picking the jury, Judge Tucker refuses to disqualify Clinton's friends and club members. At lunch, David finds that a local paper is being sold outside the court in view of the jurors and that the front page story features Ben's confession. Mitchell learns that Bixby leaked the confession to the press, knowing that the jurors will read it.

Back in court, a witness claims that Ben was abusive towards his wife in a bar and that he was eyeing Clinton's money. Another witness claims that Ben saw Clinton drop his money and that he clearly knew he had a large wad of bills on him. When Mitchell asserts that Clinton intended to spend the night with Laura-Mae, Mrs. Clinton faints.

After the day in court, Mitchell visits Mrs. Clinton at her request. She reveals that Mitchell's suspicions are true and that for the last few years, her husband was chasing younger women. She offers to plea for mercy for Ben if David drops his adultery defense out of respect for Clinton's daughter, who idolized her father. Mitchell refuses her offer, hoping to help Ben avoid being found guilty altogether.

Although an autopsy wasn't performed, Clinton's doctor alleges that he wasn't in the act of sexual intercourse during death. Bixby calls Clinton's widow to the stand despite Mitchell's objections. She says the accusations against her late husband are false, and although Mitchell could prove her wrong, he feels pity and refuses to cross-examine her.

The next day. Ben's commanding officer from his time in the Air Force testifies Ben changed after being married, going AWOL repeatedly to see his wife, becoming moody, and showing signs of mental instability. After being denied leave to look for his wife, he attempted to hang himself as well.

Mitchell then calls Ben to the stand. Ben tells how he first met his wife in a bar after seeing her dancing seductively at the jukebox. He was smitten by her and they danced and talked for hours. She accompanied him to his room, and despite just meeting her, Ben proposed marriage. She was arrested for prostitution, and after getting her out of jail, they began hitchhiking cross country where they met Mr. Clinton, who picked them up after seeing Laura-Mae. He showed his badge and gun, telling him not to worry about tickets. At a motel, Ben found Laura-Mae and Clinton together. He ran in as Clinton pulled his gun. In the struggle, Ben grabbed the gun and beat him to death with it. They fled in Clinton's car. Ben also tearfully admits he still loves his wife, and bears no ill will, even though she turned him in and applied for the reward money. Bixby begins his cross examination, asserting that Ben pimped his wife to Clinton, beating him to death when he refused. Bixby legally can't call Laura-Mae to the stand to testify against her husband, so he goads Mitchell into calling her, which he does. The judge dismisses the court before she can testify.

David visits Laura-Mae to get her to agree to tell the truth and realizes she is about to have company. He waits around and sees a man enter her room. Looking through the window, he realizes it is Judson Elliot, Bixby's co-prosecutor, and that he is having an affair with her despite being married and having four kids. In court the next morning, Laura-Mae takes the stand. As Bixby begins his cross examination, David reveals in the judge's quarters that he saw them and that he will reveal the story if they cross-examine her. He also finds out that Elliot is carrying Clinton's money clip, which Laura-Mae gave to him. After dismissing Elliot, Bixby refuses to compromise, and as court resumes, Harper arrives and is wheeled into the courtroom by Mitchell.

Mitchell begins his closing statement. He goes over all of the points of the trial as well as the conniving done by the state to protect Mr. Clinton's reputation and advance Bixby's career. Bixby's rebuttal emphasizes the confession and plays on the emotions of the jury, most of whom were friends with Clinton. He claims that they can't find Ben innocent without finding Clinton guilty. The jury retires to deliberate, and Harper jovially challenges Mitchell to declare his intentions for Susan.

Ben is found not guilty on all counts. Bixby is outraged at the loss, knowing it will hurt his career and curtail his ambitions. Harper confesses that Mitchell's newfound fame will make him the target of anyone in the Southwest in serious trouble, and passes the mantle to him. Mitchell declares his intentions for Susan, and the film ends with them sharing a kiss in front of the courthouse, then walking home.

In 1944, Captain Josiah Newman is head of the neuro-psychiatric Ward 7 at the Colfax Army Air Field (AAF) military hospital, located in the Arizona desert. As he explains to a visiting VIP who wanders in: "We're short of beds, doctors, orderlies, nurses, everything ... except patients." He will use unconventional tactics to treat his patients and to recruit much needed personnel, as when he hijacks a new and very reluctant orderly, Corporal Jackson Leibowitz, a wheeler-dealer from New Jersey. Leibowitz promptly has the entire ward participating in a sing-along of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

Newman also takes great pains to court nurse Lieutenant Francie Corum on what she thinks is a date... until he asks her to transfer to Ward 7. Their 'date/fight' is cut short by a phone call: Colonel Bliss has forced his way into Ward 7 looking for Dr. Newman with a 6-inch knife, because Newman blocked his return to active duty after witnessing Bliss' erratic behavior. After watching Newman's handling of this situation and other patients on the ward, Corum transfers in.

Newman treats shell-shocked, schizophrenic and catatonic patients, facing an especial challenge from the traumatized Corporal Jim Tompkins, an Eighth Air Force air gunner whose mind has been shattered by his war experiences. He is bedeviled by Colfax AAF's "old-school" base commander, Colonel Pyser, who ultimately saddles him with a complement of injured Italian POWs because his is the only secure ward in the hospital. In addition, a flock of constantly straying sheep (kept for the medical lab) that find their way to the airfield and a set of feuding orderlies keeps life interesting right up to Christmas 1944.

In May 1964, former Secretary of State William Russell (Henry Fonda) and Senator Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson) are the two leading candidates for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. Both have potentially fatal vulnerabilities. Russell is a principled intellectual but his sexual indiscretions and lack of attention to his wife Alice (Margaret Leighton) have alienated her. He has a past nervous breakdown to live down. Cantwell portrays himself as a populist "man of the people" and patriotic anti-communist campaigning to end "the missile gap". He is a ruthless opportunist, willing to go to any lengths to get the nomination. Neither man can stand the other; neither believes his rival qualified to be president. At the nominating convention in Los Angeles, they lobby for the crucial support of dying former President Art Hockstader (Tracy). The pragmatic Hockstader prefers Russell, but worries about his indecision and principles; he despises Cantwell for his recklessness but appreciates his toughness and willingness to do whatever it takes.

Hockstader decides to support Cantwell until the candidate blunders badly. When the two speak privately, Cantwell attacks Russell using illegally obtained psychological reports obtained by Don Cantwell, his brother and campaign manager. Cantwell mistakenly assumed that Hockstader was going to endorse Russell. The former President tells Cantwell that he does not mind a "bastard" but objects to a stupid one. He endorses neither man. The candidates try to sway undecided delegates, Russell appealing to their principles and Cantwell using blackmail. Russell finds out to his chagrin that Hockstader has offered the vice-presidential spot on his ticket to all three of the minor candidates, Senator Oscar Anderson (Richard Arlen), Governor John Merwin (William R. Ebersol) and Governor T.T. Claypoole (John Henry Faulk). One of Russell's aides finds Sheldon Bascomb (Shelley Berman), who served in the military with Cantwell and is willing to link him to homosexual activity while stationed in Alaska during World War II. Hockstader and Russell's closest advisors press Russell to seize the opportunity but he refuses to do so.

After the first ballot, Russell arranges to meet Cantwell privately but when Bascomb is confronted face-to-face by Cantwell, Cantwell angrily counters the charges. Russell threatens to use the allegation anyway but Cantwell knows Russell does not have the stomach for such smear tactics. As the rounds of balloting continue, neither man has enough votes to win though Cantwell holds a narrow lead. Cantwell offers Russell the second spot on his ticket but Russell shocks him by instead releasing his delegates and recommending they throw their support behind Merwin, who secures the nomination.

In the early 20th century, an 11-year-old boy named Lucius Priest (a distant cousin of the McCaslin/Edmonds family Faulkner wrote about in ''Go Down, Moses'') somewhat unwittingly gets embroiled in a plot to go to Memphis with dimwitted family friend and manservant Boon Hogganbeck. Boon steals (reives, thereby becoming a reiver) Lucius' grandfather's car, one of the first cars in Yoknapatawpha County. They discover that Ned McCaslin, a black man who works with Boon at Lucius' grandfather's stables, has stowed away with them (Ned is also a blood cousin of the Priests).

When they reach Memphis, Boon and Lucius stay in a boarding-house (brothel). Miss Reba, the madam, and Miss Corrie, Boon's favorite girl, are appalled to see that Boon has brought a child. In fact, Corrie's nephew Otis, an ill-mannered and off-putting boy about Lucius' age, is already staying there. In the evening, Otis reveals that Corrie (whose real name is Everbe Corinthia) used to prostitute herself in their old town, and he would charge men to watch her through a peephole. Outraged at his conduct, Lucius fights Otis, who cuts his hand with a pocketknife. Boon breaks up the fight but Everbe is so moved by Lucius' chivalry that she decides to stop whoring. Later, Ned returns to the boarding-house and reveals he traded the car for a supposedly lame racehorse.

Corrie, Reba, Ned, Boon and Lucius hatch a scheme to smuggle the horse by rail to a nearby town, Parsham, to race a horse it has lost to twice already. Ned figures that everyone in town will bet against the horse and he can win enough money to buy back the car; he claims to have a secret ability to make the horse run. Corrie uses another client who works for the railroad, Sam, to get them and the horse on a night train. In town, Ned takes Lucius to stay with a black family while they practice for the horse race. Unfortunately, the local lawman named Butch finds them out and attempts to extort sexual favors from Corrie to look the other way. Reba is able to send him away by claiming she will reveal to the town that he intentionally ordered two prostitutes, angering his constituency.

On the day of the race, Lucius rides the horse (named Coppermine but called Lightning by Ned) and loses the first of three heats as planned. Just as the second heat begins, Butch returns to break up the horserace and arrest Boon for stealing the horse. Lucius and one of Ned's kinsman are able to get the horse to safety; Corrie is supposedly able to clear the whole ordeal up by having sex with Butch and the race takes place as scheduled the next day. Lucius and Lightning win much to everyone's surprise, but are greeted at the track by Boss Priest, Lucius' grandfather.

That night, Ned reveals his scheme: his cousin Bobo accrued a huge gambling debt to a white man and agreed to steal a horse to make up for it. Ned recognizes some kind of spirit in the horse that he once saw before in a lame mule he was able to make race. Ned decides to try to bet the horse against the car, but Boss Priest's arrival ruins his scheme. Now himself embroiled in the horse theft and confusion, Boss Priest is forced to enter another race: if they win, he pays $500 to legally take the horse but reveal Ned's secret (he enticed the horse with sardines); if they lose he pays $500 but does not have to take the horse. Ned intentionally throws the race, knowing the horse is worthless. Boss pays the penalty and they get the car back.

Back home, Boss Priest saves Lucius from receiving a beating from his father, knowing that the ordeal he went through at his age was punishment enough. Boon and Corrie eventually marry and name their son Lucius Priest Hogganbeck.