A tragic motorcycle accident leaves one brother paralyzed while the other brother is left guilt-ridden. Seeing his brother struggle with his new life of limited mobility and function, the young man finds his own life weighed down by his thoughts and feelings about the accident. Motivated by his emotions and the suffering of his brother, the young man performs an "act of love" which creates more chaos for him.
In New York City, bright but naive New Englander Anne Welles becomes a secretary at a theatrical law firm, where she falls in love with attorney Lyon Burke. Anne befriends up-and-coming singer Neely O'Hara, whose dynamic talent threatens aging star Helen Lawson and beautiful but talentless actress Jennifer North. The women experience success and failure in love and work, leading to heartbreak, addiction and tragedy.
A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.
A concert pianist loses his hands in a car crash, but a surgeon gives him new ones. The experimental medical procedure goes awry when the new hands drive the pianist mad.