Valeries vecka börjar underligt med ett besök av en ung man som kan förvandlas till en fågel. Resten av veckan fortsätter i samma anda i en surrealistisk saga där kärlek, rädsla, sex och religion blandas samman till en fantasieggande värld.

A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.

Marcel är en fattig poet som nyss blivit vräkt. När han driver runt på Paris gator träffar han Rodolfo, en albansk målare som befinner sig i landet illegalt. De blir vänner och lär känna den nya hyresgästen i Marcels gamla lägenhet, en irländsk kompositör vid namn Schaunard. Tillsammans försöker de klara av tillvaron så gott det går, men så blir Rodolfo förälskad…

A young couple, Renée and Pierre, take a room at the Hôtel du Nord, in Paris, near the canal Saint-Martin. They want to die together, but after shooting Renée, Pierre lacks the courage to finish the job and flees. Another guest, Monsieur Edmond, rescues her. When Renée gets out of the hospital she is hired as a waitress at the same hotel. Monsieur Edmond falls in love with her, but Renée is still thinking of Pierre.

It is 1957. A young student is unhappy at school, play hooky frequently and devotes himself to his great interest in music. Together with his girlfriend and other friends he lives a bohemian life in anticipation of becoming an adult.

Ruth Sherwood and her sister, Eileen, have moved to 1935 Greenwich Village. They're surrounded by colorful Village characters (including an out-of-work football player known as the Wreck, and Mr. Appopolous, a modern painter and their landlord) and embark on various New York adventures. Ruth, who's trying to make it as a writer, meets up with a sleazy newspaper writer named Chick and a kindly editor named Bob, both of whom take an interest in both her career and her.