Anthony Adverse

Maria Bonnyfeather becomes the new bride of the aging Spanish Marquis Don Luis, a union arranged for social gain. The marriage cannot be consummated until he is cured of gout at a famous spa.

Denis Moore, Maria's true love, follows the couple and stays near their château. While Don Luis is away for the cure, Maria and Denis meet in the woods and she reveals she is carrying his child after three months.

Don Luis returns cured from the spa, and Maria fears the consequences of her affair. The lovers plan to flee that night to escape the marriage's stigma.

Don Luis discovers the lovers and takes Maria away. Denis pursues them to an inn, where Don Luis kills him in a sword duel.

Months after these events, Maria dies giving birth to her son at a chalet in the Italian Alps. The infant Anthony is later placed in a convent's foundling wheel near Leghorn.

The nuns christen the boy Anthony, and Don Luis lies to John Bonnyfeather that the infant died, shielding the family from stigma. The truth about the child remains hidden for now.

Ten years pass and Anthony is apprenticed to Bonnyfeather. Bonnyfeather discovers the boy's true identity but keeps it secret to spare the family from scandal.

Anthony meets Angela Guisseppi, the cook's daughter, and they fall in love. Angela dreams of becoming a great singer, while Anthony hopes to serve Bonnyfeather and marry her.

Angela's father wins the lottery and the family leaves Leghorn, ending their immediate plans. Years later, Anthony finds her again, singing in the opera chorus.

Anthony and Angela wed. Soon after the ceremony, Bonnyfeather sends Anthony to Havana to recover his fortune from Gallego & Sons.

On the day his ship sails, Angela goes to the convent to meet him, but the note she leaves is blown away and he sails unaware. She continues her career in Rome with her company.

Anthony travels to Africa to take control of Gallego & Sons' slave trading post on the Pongo River. Three years in the slave trade corrupt him, and he takes slave girl Neleta into his bed.

Anthony returns to Italy to find Bonnyfeather dead. Faith Paleologus, Don Luis's longtime conspirator and now wife, has inherited Bonnyfeather's fortune.

Anthony goes to Paris to claim his inheritance and is reunited with his friend banker Vincent Nolte. He saves Nolte from bankruptcy by loaning him his entire fortune, learning that there is more than money and power.

Impresario Debrulle reunites Anthony with Angela, who bears him a son. In the Paris Opera, Angela appears as Mademoiselle Georges and whispers goodbye as Anthony leaves the box. He then returns home to find his son and a letter from Angela, and they sail for America in search of a better life.