When a poor merchant gets lost and enters a strange castle, the half-human, half-beast owner threatens hims with death unless the merchant gives him one of his daughters; duty and honor conflict in a German prisoner of war camp during World War I; a couple ask a casual acquaintance to spend a few days with them on a small boat but the ensuing events make them regret their invitation; civilization is slowly stripped away after some English school boys crash land on an island and find themselves without adult supervision; the murder of a man and the rape of his wife are told from four different perspectives; an aging professor's road trip to receive an honorary degree is beset with flashbacks and nightmares. Read Less