Restoration

Robert Merivel, a young physician, earns the king's favor by saving the royal spaniel. Impressed, King Charles II takes him into his court and grants him prestige and access to pleasures of court life. Merivel revels in the attention and begins a rapid ascent within the king's circle.

The king arranges Merivel to wed Celia, one of his favored mistresses, to maintain appearances and to confound his rival Barbara Castlemaine. The marriage is a political ploy rather than a genuine union. Merivel reluctantly accepts the role and moves into Celia's orbit at court.

Merivel is granted the Bidnold estate in Suffolk, and Celia is installed in a house at Kew where the king can still visit. He luxuriates in courtly pleasures while also trying to restore Bidnold to its former beauty, aided by estate manager Will Gates. The arrangement hides the widening gap between his public facade and private desires.

Merivel falls in love with Celia, a betrayal of the king's cardinal rule. The king discovers the romance and banishes Merivel from court, forcing him back to his work as a physician. He loses his privileged life and faces a harsher, more ordinary existence.

Merivel reconnects with his old friend John Pearce, who now runs a Quaker sanitarium. There, Merivel meets Katharine, a troubled woman whose past and vulnerability draw him in. A complicated relationship begins to form between them.

Merivel and Katharine fall into a passionate relationship, and Katharine becomes pregnant with his child. Pearce contracts consumption, prompting Merivel to become his caretaker. The intimate bond deepens even as suffering and illness test their loyalties.

John Pearce dies from his illness, leaving Merivel and Katharine to face the future together. They decide to leave the sanitarium life and start anew away from the Quaker institution. Their departure marks a shift toward building a private life apart from the court.

Merivel and Katharine return to London just as the Great Plague begins to ravage the city. They confront the grim reality of metropolitan suffering and the collapse of social norms under the epidemic. The couple seeks shelter in the thick of the crisis.

Katharine gives birth to a daughter, Margaret, by Caesarean section, but she does not survive the procedure. Merivel promises to care for the child, a vow that anchors him to a new responsibility. The plagues and loss sharpen his sense of purpose beyond personal desire.

As the plague ravages the city, Merivel acts as a physician, separating the sick from the well to ease suffering. He uses the alias John Pearce, paying tribute to his friend and shielding his new identity from the court. The work grants him a sense of fulfillment he had not known at court.

In disguise, Merivel is summoned to the palace to examine Celia, who is feverish but treatable and secretly pregnant. The moment deepens his emotional conflict as power, love, and duty intersect. The king's favor looms in the background as events unfold.

The city is hit by a massive fire that consumes much of London. Merivel races to save his infant daughter but cannot locate her and ultimately falls through a burning floor into a boat, drifting unconscious down the river. He awakens later at Bidnold, far from the conflagration.

Back at Bidnold, the King confirms Merivel's worth as a healer when a nurse arrives with Margaret, proving the child is alive. Celia's suspicions about the origin of the physician are laid bare, and the King chooses to forgive and restore Bidnold to Merivel. The bond between Merivel and his daughter strengthens his resolve.

In the final act, Merivel prepares to return to London with Margaret to establish a new hospital, with the King’s assistance. He has found purpose beyond courtly indulgence and embraces a life of service and care for others. The film closes with a hopeful vision of healing and renewal.