 Europe, 1922. The post-war  lost generation  of expatriates who  continued to live as if they were about to die  includes newspaperman Jake Harris, impotent due to a war wound; gorgeous party girl Lady Brett Ashley, hopelessly in love with Jake whom she can t marry because of her sexual needs; Brett s purely nominal fiance, Mike; and writers Robert and Bill. They wander about Europe in berets, drinking, having affairs, and finding no lasting satisfaction in anything.