Based on the short story from George Eliot's 1857 work Scenes of a Clerical life. A chaplain to an aristocratic British family falls in love with their ward, a young Italian woman, who he marries. Tragedy strikes when she dies only a few months later leaving him in a state of grief.

Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.