Six months after David is born, his father mysteriously passes away leaving him and his mother alone.

His mom remarries, but his step-father is cruel and sends David away to live with the family of their housekeeper.

Upon returning, the cruelty only gets worse and after a fight, David is sent to a boarding school where he meets his lifelong friend James Steerforth.

Together they get into all kinds of trouble but eventually David falls in love and marries but the marriage is short lived as his new bride quickly dies.

David is encouraged to move on but the question is whether his true love will also love him.