A Handful of Dust

Tony Last cherishes his ancestral home, Hetton Abbey, and a quiet rural life. He is blissfully content, unaware of his wife's growing discontent and the changes to come.

Brenda starts an affair with the social-climbing John Beaver, seeking excitement beyond her marriage. Tony remains oblivious as the affair secretly erodes the marriage.

Brenda persuades Tony to rent a flat in London, unaware she uses it as a love nest with Beaver. The flat becomes the physical center of their affair and a symbol of Brenda's deceit.

The Lasts' eight-year-old son, John Andrew, is killed in a riding accident, shocking the family. Brenda's revelation about her affair soon follows under the strain of this tragedy.

Brenda informs Tony of the affair and asks for a divorce, seeking financial support. Tony is shattered but initially proposes to provide £500 a year, trying to salvage the situation.

Tony endures an awkward weekend with a woman hired to provide fake divorce evidence. Beaver and his mother push Brenda to demand £2,000 per year, threatening the sale of Hetton to fund the settlement.

The hired evidence fails, and Tony proves adultery could not be established. He withdraws the divorce and announces he will travel for six months instead of paying a large settlement.

Upon Tony's return, Brenda's divorce is no longer pursued and she loses the social standing she sought. Beaver loses interest in Brenda and departs with his mother for California, leaving Brenda in poverty.

Tony joins an expedition to the Brazilian wilderness in search of a legendary lost city. The journey tests his endurance as the expedition encounters harsh jungle conditions.

The expedition collapses and Tony becomes the sole survivor. He fights for survival amid the unforgiving jungle and is eventually rescued by a local settler, Mr. Todd.

Mr. Todd, an illiterate settler, rescues Tony and is entertained by Tony reading Dickens. Todd hesitates to help Tony return to civilization, trapping him in the jungle settlement for a time.

Todd resists releasing Tony; he drugs and hides him, telling a rescue party that Tony has died and handing over his watch. When the party arrives, Tony realizes that true rescue will not come and that he may be trapped for life.

Back in England, Tony's death is accepted, and Hetton passes to his cousins who erect a memorial to him. Brenda, meanwhile, resolves her situation by marrying Tony's friend Jock Grant-Menzies.