In Ceylon, colonized by the British, an Indian Tamil woman describes the events that follow the departure of the British from the plantations. She imagines the possibility of a new world as the Indians reclaim their land. However, the reality that follows shows how the British values persist and are upheld by ethnic differences between the Indians on the plantation.

While visiting a Jewish colony in Argentina, a man gives a lecture as part of an effort to revive Yiddish culture in the settlement. Afterward, he hears from locals the unexpectedly unrighteous history of life in the colony.

In colonial Angola, a Herero woman torn between her family and her oppressive white husband finds herself accused of disloyalty on all sides. Despite significant sacrifice, disaster ensues when she tries to honor both commitments.

An American couple travel to post-World-War-II Holland and meet a Dutch Holocaust survivor, now a doctor, who married to a French woman. The doctor's life is complicated by numerous affairs which leaves his wife unhappy.

When he discovers gold near his village, an African man dissatisfied with his lot in life develops new obsessions, flouts old responsibilities, and ultimately loses more than he gains.

When a shipbreaker travels to an African island to shut down a shipyard owned by his employer, he meets an ex-Corporate America worker who pushes him to reconsider.

An Australian soldier spends several seasons stationed in a British Imperialist colony in Asia where he interacts with the city’s residents and comes to terms with the evils of imperialism.

As the People's Liberation Army ravages China, a resentful young woman charged with a strange mission leaves home to work in the city. Once there, she discovers terrifying connections between her rich new employer and the village she left behind.

Two American friends escape their vacation in Paris to the French countryside, enjoying a day of fresh air until a Russian waiter and an Austrian remind them of the horrors of war.

A young Native American man visits a burial site on a nearby island and must reflect on both his allegiance to his culture and to himself.