巴黎风尘女郎玛格丽特约见华维尔男爵却与青年亚芒认识。后俩人在书店相遇,玛得知亚芒每天送花探病,深受感动邀其参加生日宴会。亚芒见她强颜欢笑更加怜惜,遂对她示爱。当晚男爵回来亚芒吃了闭门羹,懊悔之余斥责她无情,请求父亲资助他出国旅行。玛赶去见他并互吐心意,玛同意和男爵分手随他到乡下调养身体。亚芒父亲劝玛放弃亚芒,玛因真心爱亚芒,为其着想,骗亚芒与其分手。几个月后亚芒与男爵及玛在赌场相遇,不料亚满大赢,叫玛随他走,玛拒绝,亚芒盛怒之下加以侮辱,并与男爵决斗,男爵受伤,亚芒畏罪潜逃。玛深爱亚芒,却拒绝任何资助,病情加重,待亚芒了解真相玛已撒手人寰。
Camille is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. When Armand's father begs her not to ruin his hope of a career and position by marrying Armand, she acquiesces and leaves her lover. However, when poverty and terminal illness overwhelm her, Camille discovers that Armand has not lost his love for her.
阿尔方斯妮(伊莎贝尔·于佩尔 Isabelle Huppert 饰)本是一位出生在偏僻小村庄里的穷苦姑娘,被贪婪的父亲(吉昂·马利亚·沃隆特 Gian Maria Volonté 饰)卖给了商人,之后一路辗转颠沛流离来到了繁华的大都市巴黎。凭借着迷人的美貌和过人的智慧,阿尔方斯妮一举成为了巴黎上流社交圈内的交际花,整日生活在荼蘼的灯红酒绿之中,人们送给了她“茶花女”的美誉。