On a fine May afternoon, the beautiful and innocent Tess Durbeyfield spies a handsome young stranger at a village dance, but he ignores her.

Tess returns home in confusion and shame after being seduced by her manipulative `cousin' Alec D'Urberville. Her baby, whom she christens Sorrow, is a sickly child, but Tess finds work on a dairy farm where she meets the handsome Angel Clare again.

Tess agrees to marry Angel, to his great joy. When he confesses to a dishonorable event in his past, Tess feels that she can at last tell him about her relationship with Alec D'Urberville and its consequences.

When Angel leaves for Brazil, Tess wonders if she will ever see him again and ever find true happiness.