Headstrong farmer Rosemary Muldoon has her heart set on winning her neighbour Anthony Reilly’s love. The problem is, Anthony seems to have inherited a family curse, and remains oblivious to his beautiful admirer. Stung by his father’s plans to sell the family farm to his American nephew, Anthony is jolted into pursuing his dreams.

Hypochondriac Joe Banks finds out he has six months to live, quits his dead end job, musters the courage to ask his co-worker out on a date, and is then hired to jump into a volcano by a mysterious visitor.

Two tramps wait for a man named Godot, but instead meet a pompous man and his stooped-over slave.

Father Eion O’Donnell is unambiguous about the need to use violence to force Britain out of Ireland. He influences a young impressionable boy, Antaine to fight in the 1916 Rising. Fifty years later Antaine arrives in Derry as an experienced gunman. This appearance throws Eoin back to the cause of his breakdown in 1916. Eoin’s influence on young Antaine echoes in Antaine’s dark influence on an Altar boy, Feidhlim.

A young man (Cruise) leaves Ireland with his landlord’s daughter (Kidman) after some trouble with her father, and they dream of owning land at the big giveaway in Oklahoma ca. 1893. When they get to the new land, they find jobs and begin saving money. The man becomes a local barehands boxer, and rides in glory until he is beaten, then his employers steal all the couple’s money and they must fight off starvation in the winter, and try to keep their dream of owning land alive. Meanwhile, the woman’s parents find out where she has gone and have come to America to find her and take her back.