Ryan O'Neal stars as an 18th-century Irish cad whose lack of integrity leads him down a path of self-destruction. During adolescence, he falls foolishly in love, then must abandon the area after a duel. He absentmindedly enlists in the British Army and ends up deserting from not one, but both sides. Eventually he marries a beautiful and wealthy countess (Marisa Berenson) who learns firsthand what it feels like to lose everything.

Based on the William Makepeace Thackeray novel.