Description
In World War II London,
Maurice Bendrix
receives an honorable
discharge from the
military and resumes
his writing career.
While researching a
project on civil
servants, Maurice is
invited to a party at
the home of bureaucrat
Henry Miles and his
wife Sarah, to whom
Maurice is immediately
attracted. When Henry
recommends that Maurice
interview Sarah for his
project as she knows
him best, Maurice
agrees. Maurice meets
Sarah a few days later
and the two soon begin
a clandestine romance.
Over the next several
months Maurice and
Sarah fall deeply in
love, meeting often at
a small country inn.
Maurice frets
continually and despite
Sarah's reassurances,
is deeply suspicious
and jealous of her life
without him. In London,
Sarah meets Miles at
his apartment, despite
the constant threats of
air raids. During one
rendezvous, the couple
is unnerved by the new
German "buzz bombs,"
which cause great
damage. During an
attack, Maurice
suggests they go below
to the shelter, but
Sarah worries about his
landlady seeing them
together. Maurice goes
downstairs to see if
the shelter is empty,
but as he arrives on
the first floor, a bomb
detonates near the
house and he is caught
in the explosion and
buried beneath the
shattered front door.
Regaining consciousness
moments later, Maurice
stumbles upstairs and
to his surprise finds
Sarah kneeling by the
bed. She is shocked to
see him and, in answer
to Maurice's query,
admits that she was
praying, as she had
found him after the
blast and believed him
dead. Sarah tends to
Maurice's injuries for
some moments before
abruptly departing.
Over the next several
days, Maurice recovers
from the explosion but
is unable to reach
Sarah. Soon Maurice
grows bitter, believing
Sarah has used the
bombing incident to
break off with him.
Depressed, Maurice
leaves London and does
not return for a year,
after the war has
ended. One evening
shortly after his
return, Maurice is
walking home in the
rain when he meets
Henry. Agitated and
nervous, Henry invites
Maurice home, and after
learning that Sarah is
out, Maurice agrees.
Over drinks, Henry
confesses his concern
about Sarah's strange
withdrawal and long
absences and has gone
so far as to consider
hiring a detective.
When Henry admits that
he is disgusted by the
thought of taking this
action, Maurice
volunteers to do so for
him, but Henry refuses.
The next day Maurice
visits the Savage
detective agency and
hires them to track
Sarah's movements.
Later, Maurice tries to
contact Sarah and then
walks to her house,
intercepting her
arrival. When Maurice
demands an explanation
for their breakup,
Sarah offers none. The
next day, Maurice meets
the Savage agency
representative, Albert
Parkis, and is abashed
to learn that his
report details
Maurice's own meeting
with Sarah. A few days
later, however, Parkis
summons Maurice to
witness Sarah's arrival
at the address of
Richard Smythe, whom
she has visited several
times. Later, Parkis
reveals that he has
befriended the Miles's
maid and offers him a
portion of a letter
written by Sarah, which
includes Sarah's
declaration of lifetime
commitment. Maurice
contacts Henry and
demands a meeting at
his club, where he
discusses the
investigation, Sarah's
mysterious meetings
with Smythe and the
letter. Henry is
dismayed and angry at
Maurice and refuses to
believe the report.
That evening, Parkis
presents Maurice with
Sarah's diary and adds
that Sarah has been in
poor health. Maurice
brings the
investigation to a
close and begins
reading the diary:
During their affair,
Sarah worries
constantly that despite
her love for him,
Maurice's needless
suspicions will ruin
their relationship.
During the night of the
buzz bomb attack, Sarah
finds Maurice buried
beneath debris and
believes him dead.
Returning upstairs in
shock, Sarah is driven
to desperate prayer,
vowing to give up
Maurice if he is
allowed to live. At
Maurice's appearance,
Sarah realizes she must
take her promise
seriously and on her
way home stops at a
nearby church and
confesses to Father
Crompton. Plagued by
her pledge, Sarah soon
begins seeing public
orator Smythe, who
declares that God
cannot exist and allow
the destruction of the
war to continue.
Conflicted, Sarah also
continues to see Father
Crompton. The day that
Parkis and Maurice
follow Sarah to
Smythe's, she bids
Smythe farewell,
explaining that his
hatred against God has
only helped her realize
His existence, but also
that she is causing
Henry great
unhappiness. Returning
home, Sarah writes a
love letter to Maurice,
apologizing and vowing
to return to him, but
then tears the letter
up and throws it away.
Henry arrives home
shaken and pleads with
Sarah not to leave him
and she reluctantly
agrees. After finishing
the diary, Maurice
calls Sarah, who
refuses to see him.
When he insists, Sarah
flees the house into a
rainstorm, but Maurice
follows her and makes
her promise to return
to him. Weakly
proclaiming that she
does not have the
strength to continue
battling all the forces
pulling at her, Sarah
agrees. The next day,
Maurice finds Sarah
gravely ill, and her
mother and a physician
in attendance with
Henry. Everyone is
stunned when Sarah
abruptly dies, and
Maurice returns home
shattered. He finds a
letter from Sarah
declaring that she
cannot go away with him
and will never see him
again, and that she
believes in her promise
to God despite and
because of her love for
him. Maurice weeps and
tells Sarah that in
time he may understand.
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