Based on an autobiography, this film tells the true story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who is captured by the Japanese during WWII and sent to a POW camp, where he is tortured and forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway. Years later, and still suffering the psychological trauma of his wartime experiences, Lomax is persuaded by his wife Patti to find and confront one of his captors. Accompanied by his best friend, Lomax returns to the scene...

Robert Merivel abandons his medical studies to revel in gluttony, indolence, & buffoonery at the court of King Charles II. He becomes King Charles' medic to the royal dogs, and is delegated to marry the royal mistress. When he falls in love with her, however, he is banished from court, leading to work in a Quaker Bedlam.