封闭守旧的美国小镇闯进了一个神秘女子格蕾斯（妮可•基德曼 Nicole Kidman 饰）。她美丽善良，正在逃避歹徒追杀。镇中的作家汤姆力劝村民留下这个女子，让她暂时在镇里避过难关。然而条件就是格蕾丝要干各种农活来偿还。人们同意了，不久后却发现格蕾丝是一个通缉中的逃犯。大家要把格蕾丝赶走，最后答应，如果她更卖力的干活，才可以在这里逗留。
格蕾丝日以继夜的劳作，终难逃过不幸的事情发生。一个镇民在警察搜捕后，强暴了格蕾丝。龌龊的事情拉开了序幕：人们开始随意的污辱她，甚至连汤姆，也揭开了善良的面具，格蕾斯沦为镇上的一条狗，干活，受罪，善良的心也有了渐渐的改变。镇上的人怎么也想不到，这个女子的神秘身世，让此刻的污辱成为了他日的灭顶之灾。
在这部情节剧里，一个贫穷的妇女在许多磨难中抚养她的儿子。但无论怎样挣扎，都要坚守自己的道德准则。
这部电影从完成一条以现在为背景的村庄的水渠开始。拉达（Nargis）作为村里的母亲，被要求打开运河，回忆起她新婚时的往事，反映了印度新的独立。拉达和沙姆（Raaj Kumar）的婚礼是由拉达的婆婆支付的，她从放债人Sukhilala那里得到了一笔贷款。这件事开始了拉达所忍受的贫穷和苦难的螺旋式上升。贷款的条件有争议，但村里的长老们决定支持放债人，之后沙姆和拉达被迫支付四分之三的庄稼作为贷款500卢比的利息。在试图利用更多的土地来减轻贫困的同时，沙木的手臂被一块巨石压碎。他为自己的无助感到羞耻，也为村里的其他人感到羞耻。他觉得自己对家人没用，就离开了，再也不回来了。不久之后，拉达的婆婆去世了。拉达继续着…
Young farmer Mikajlo while on youth labour action falls in love with a student Nada and infatuated with her, he leaves the peasant brigade and Malena, a girl who as if she were overabundant, followed him to work the labour action. Mikajlo's courtship of Nada provokes laughter and ridicule, so ambitious 'Don Juan' returns to his brigade and the girl.
一部关于巴西小镇托里塔马（Toritama）的纪录片，该镇自称是牛仔裤之都。该市自我管理的小企业的工人只能从纺织业的自我剥削生活中得到一个真正的休息：一年一度的狂欢节。
When a poor and out-caste village tanner goes to village priest to get the date of his daughter's marriage fixed, the priest in turn asks for labor without pay in exchange.
"The Last One Put Out the Light" - The Berlin construction workers Micha, Silvio and Norbert are out of work. The way out spells - Norway. Because over German craftsmen are in demand. The three with 17 other desperate people are bawling Norwegian and preparing themselves for "it's always just salmon" and fearing the darkness. Too bad that their wives have other plans.
The Peralta brothers work in the countryside the Alto Paraná. There they will meet subhuman working conditions. Finally, the workers rise and harshly punish their exploiters.
Martha Bieder is the last rubble-woman in Berlin Rummelsburg. Every day, rain or shine, she stands at the conveyor belt - as she has for decades - sorting through rubble. After a retirement party thrown for her by her male colleagues, she tells her story of being a rubble-woman in post-war Germany.