James Ivory directs this romantic period drama based on the novel by Jean Rhys. Starring Isabelle Adjani, Alan Bates and Maggie Smith. In 1920s Paris, Marya Zelli, a beautiful young novelist, finds herself destitute when her art dealer husband, Stephan is sent to prison for theft. A rich patron, H.J. Heidler, and his artist wife, Lois, offer to take Marya in for the duration of Stephan\'s incarceration. Heidler, a shameless philanderer with a history of taking advantage of helpless young women, soon seduces Marya – while Lois painfully accepts his infidelity.