In 1964 Paris, Madeleine works as a shoe salesgirl and a part-time prostitute. She falls in love with Jaromil, a Czech doctor she picks up, and the two continue to see each other for years despite Madeleine's marriage to another man. Meanwhile, Madeleine's daughter Vera has romantic trouble of her own: she is torn between her longtime boyfriend and an unobtainable American musician.

Against all odds, a veterinary student (Robert Pattinson) and a beautiful circus performer from a bygone era (Reese Witherspoon) meet and fall in love through their shared compassion for a special elephant. But their secret romance incurs the wrath of her dangerously volatile husband (Christoph Waltz).