XVII century, Bulgaria is under Ottoman rule. Four men break into the house of the shepherd Karaivan, raping and killing his wife in full view of their child, Maria. To protect his daughter and to enact revenge, he raises Maria as a son, teaching her to fight and kill. But as Maria grows up, she longs for a different life.

Jack Shaw has experienced the terror first-hand. He's a top CIA agent who's tracked international killer-for-hire Carlos "The Jackal" Sanchez for over twenty years and barely survived Carlos' devastating bombing of a Parisian cafe. Now, he finally gets a break when he discovers Carlos' dead ringer: American naval officer and dedicated family man Annibal Ramirez.

Two teenaged friends have separate difficult experiences that make the girls seriously consider suicide.

Jack Richards, a professor in his 50's, has apparently gone mad over the supposed abduction of his daughter by a sinister cult. Wallowing in self-pity for years, he decides to commit suicide. However, the manner in which he decides to suicide is quite peculiar: he allows himself to be abducted by a cult, whose members treat him as their "king" for one year (he is given a castle, concubines, gifts, etc...), and then murder him as an atonement for their yearly sins.

Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard leaves Europe, eventually arriving in the United States. With the help of Einstein, he persuades the government to build an atomic bomb. The project is given to no-nonsense Gen. Leslie Groves who selects physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to head the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, where the bomb is built. As World War II draws to a close, Szilard has second thoughts about atomic weapons, and policy makers debate how and when to use the bomb.

A film pioneer, Binka Zhelyazkova was at the forefront of political cinema under Bulgaria's Communist dictatorship. Though she remained faithful to the communist ideals she became an avid critic of the regime and brought upon herself the wrath of its censorship. As a result four of her nine films were shelved and released to the public only after the fall of the regime in 1989, and Binka Zhelyazkova became known as the bad girl of Bulgarian cinema. A provocative portrait that reveals the pressures and complexities that arise when art is made under totalitarianism.

Apostol, an architect on this side of forty, meets by chance Bella at a swimming pool on the night of her graduation party.

An investigator tries to solve a murder, her constant interviews with the main suspect cause the investigation to take many twists and turns as what is said is not always what is meant.

Livingston is trying to merge the Russians, Chinese and Italian gangsters into one group with huge amounts of money and power. FBI agent Susan and DEA agent Max are trying to stop them.

Stefan and Tanya arrive in a miners' settlement. They register as a married couple at the hostel, but Tanya admits to the house managers that Stefan has a wife but has started divorce procedure. The two have fled from the scandal. Stefan starts work at the mine and she waits for him in the hostel with little to do. Her mother arrives. Unable to swallow the humiliation of having been rejected by Tanya's family, Stefan gets drunk. When he comes back, he starts a row and has to be restrained. Stefan takes offense, leaves the mine, parts with Tanya, and becomes a waiter in the pub. Soon he obtains a divorce. He wants to take Tanya back to his native town. She refuses to give up her new friends and the steady job she has found. Stefan sets out alone. At the very last moment, he jumps from the bus...