This modern-day version of the famous Charles Dickens novel begins when ten-year-old Finn Bell is coerced by the convict Lustig (Robert De Niro) into helping him escape from the authorities. Later, when he is taken to the home of bitter recluse Nora Diggers Dinsmoor (Anne Bancroft), Finn is introduced to the beautiful Estella, whom he is fated to love. As an adult, Finn (Ethan Hawke) is able to move to New York and become a successful painter thanks to a mysterious benefactor. He is still in love with Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow), who agrees to model for him, but his hopes of romance are dashed when he discovers that she is engaged to another man.