The Secret Heart

Esther Blodgett is just another starry-eyed farm kid trying to break into the movies. Waitressing at a Hollywood party, she catches the eye of her idol Norman Maine, is sent for a screen test, and before long attains stardom as newly minted Vicki Lester. She and Norman marry, though his career soon dwindles to nothing due to his chronic alcoholism.

Just before Christmas, department store clerk Steve Mason meets big spending customer Connie Ennis, who's actually a comparison shopper sent by another store. Steve lets her go, which gets him fired. They spend the afternoon together, which doesn't sit well with Connie's steady suitor, Carl, when he finds out, but delights her young son Timmy, who quickly takes to Steve.

With her husband Jack perpetually away at work, Margaret Hall raises her children virtually alone. Her teenage son is testing the waters of the adult world, and early one morning she wakes to find the dead body of his gay lover on the beach of their rural lakeside home. What would you do? What is rational and what do you do to protect your child? How far do you go and when do you stop?

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.

Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."

An elderly Israeli Jew of Greek origins was sent to Greece to represent his town in a town twinning ceremony, however he went instead to search for his friend from the childhood, who saved him from the Holocaust. In meantime he formed a special relationship with young Greek woman, and dealt with the broken relationship with his devout Hasidic son.

Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.

Jamie, an 11-year-old boy, is fascinated by his father Charlie’s espionage work until the world of spies becomes all too real. Charlie lives in his own reality—an undercover agent, always on an important mission, always on the move. Life for Charlie is highly charged and on the edge. He is unpredictable, explosive, yet kind hearted and fiercely protective of his Jamie who hero-worships his father.

Overwhelmed and extra-sensitive, Katrine has a hard time coping when her more relaxed boyfriend, Andreas, takes a business trip just days after the birth of their first child. The fussy baby has difficulty breastfeeding, and vulnerable, insecure Katrine feels like a failure. When Katrine’s emotionally withholding mother Lise consents to stay for a few days, the two quickly fall into what are clearly familiar dysfunctional behavior patterns.

Eetu, a wealthy homeowner, attempts to seduce Leena Kosken. But when austere log boy Erkki meets her at midsummer dances, Leena falls in love with him instead. Jealous, Eetu turns the men of the village against Erkki and the Tukki people.

When a Chicago teen is arrested for drug possession, the ensuing investigation reveals that he has had sexual contact with an older man. Discovering his sexual encounter, other students start shunning him and call for his expulsion from school. His conservative blue-collar dad also rejects him, while his mother does try to offer support.