Two English Girls

The film opens in Paris around 1902 as Claude Roc and his widowed mother are visited by Anne Brown. Anne invites Claude to spend the summer on the coast of Wales with her widowed mother and sister, Muriel, hoping Claude might become a husband for Muriel. Claude accepts the invitation, setting the stage for a summer that will change all their lives.

During the Welsh summer, Claude and Muriel begin to fall in love. Muriel is initially hesitant, but Claude persuades her to consider marriage. Madame Roc, with the agreement of Mrs Brown, declares they must live apart for a year without communication before marrying.

Claude returns to France and moves in artistic circles, where he soon has affairs with several women. Muriel remains in Wales and keeps a diary that chronicles her feelings and loneliness. The distance between them deepens as Claude explores his freedom.

Muriel's diary grows more despondent as the long separation endures. She records her emotional turmoil and the sense that their plans for a life together are slipping away. The diary becomes a tangible symbol of their fractured betrothal.

With his mother's encouragement, Claude writes to Muriel to end the engagement so he can focus on his business pursuits. Muriel is devastated by the betrayal and the sense that their future is dissolved. The decision marks a pivotal turning point in both their lives.

Anne leaves home to study sculpture in Paris and becomes intimate with Claude. She loses her virginity to him and begins a non-exclusive affair that allows Claude to pursue other relationships as well. The bond between Claude and Anne tightens in a way that will complicate everyone involved.

Anne's relationship deepens with Diurka, a publisher who accompanies her to Persia. Claude encourages Anne to pursue this journey, expanding the web of relationships that define their lives. The Persian adventure becomes a backdrop for further emotional and artistic crosscurrents.

Muriel sends Claude her diary, revealing intimate childhood memories and a struggle with masturbation. Claude publishes the diary against her wishes, turning her private pain into a public account. The act widens the gulf between them and foreshadows lasting consequences.

Muriel travels to Paris and again rekindles her romance with Claude. The renewed affair complicates their lives further, especially as Claude's other relationships continue. The emotional tension remains high as they confront their intertwined pasts.

Anne informs Muriel that Claude has been involved with her, triggering Muriel's collapse into deep despair. Muriel returns to Wales to recover from the emotional blow. The revelation shatters any remaining illusion of a simple happy ending.

Anne becomes engaged to a Frenchman named Nicholas but falls ill and dies in Wales. Diurka remains by her side as the family grieves. Her death marks a sorrowful turn in the intertwined fates of the two sisters and Claude.

Diurka tells Claude that Muriel is leaving for Belgium. Claude meets her ship at Calais and they spend a night together in a hotel, during which Muriel also loses her virginity. In the morning, Muriel says they must part forever as Claude is unsuited for matrimony.

Muriel writes to say she is pregnant, raising Claude's hopes of marriage, but a second letter reveals that she was mistaken and their relationship is truly at an end. The dream of a shared future collapses once more under the weight of circumstance. Claude must confront the end of their romantic chapter.

Claude later learns that Muriel has married and had a daughter. He channels the saga of his relationships with the sisters into a novel, which is published by Diurka. The public life he builds contrasts with the private losses that haunt him.

In the epilogue set in the 1920s, the narrator explains that Claude is now a successful author but remains unmarried. His mother has died, and he still dreams of the artistic gifts of Anne and the children he and Muriel might have had. The film closes on a note of nostalgic what-ifs and unresolved longing.