The Far Cry

In the opulent, high-stakes social circles of 1920s Paris, Dick Clayton and Claire Marsh find themselves entangled in a romance that is as much about rebellion as it is about affection. When their respective parents descend upon the Continent to dismantle the union, the drama shifts from a lighthearted flirtation to a psychological chess match. Mrs. Clayton, driven by a classist disdain for Claire, becomes the catalyst for a cruel counter-plot: Claire manipulates Dick into a public proposal specifically to reject him within earshot of his mother. This act of spite sends a broken Dick to Venice to pursue art as a distraction, only for Claire to pursue him once more. Their reconciliation is short-lived, marred by jealousy and the arrival of rivals, leading to a final, desperate confrontation back in Paris where a literal fire becomes the only thing capable of burning away their petty grievances.