Cirrus@Austlit

In England during the early 1800s, Oscar, a young but good-hearted misfit, believes that God has given him a sign to leave his father and his faith and join the Church of England while Lucinda, a teenaged Australian heiress, has a strong desire to liberate her sex from the confines of male-dominated culture. She buys a glass factory, and dreams of building a church made almost entirely of glass and then transporting it to the Australian outback. Oscar and Lucinda meet on a ship going to Australia; once there, they are each ostracised from society for different reasons, and join forces. Since both are passionate gamblers, Lucinda bets Oscar her entire inheritance that he cannot transport the glass church to the outback safely. Oscar accepts her wager, and this leads to the events that change both their lives forever.

Katherine works on an isolated farm run by Hester and Hester's father Francis. Unhappy because of her heavy workload, Katherine wants to leave. Hester doesn't want her to go, because she is attracted to her younger friend. She manages to convince Katherine to stay by promising to give her less work in the future. When old Francis dies, Hester sells the farm for cash, and she and Katherine move to a small cottage on the farm's edge, from where they plan a trip to Europe. A tragic accident and the theft of their money changes their plans.

Film based on Henry James's 1880-1881 novel about a young American woman travelling through Europe and attempting to negotiate both marriage and independence.