Philip Carey develops into an impressionable young man with a ravenous hunger for knowledge and adventure from a tormented orphan with a clubfoot. At the age of 18 his cravings lead him to Paris to try his hand at art before returning to London to pursue a career in medicine. But even so nothing can satisfy his persistent thirst for knowledge. Then after falling madly in love he starts a terrible relationship that will alter the course of his life forever.