Ohio, 1918. Young Philip Griffin lives a cheerless existence as a lowly (and lonely) warehouse worker. His only respite is found in the silent films, or "flickers" that he takes in weekly. Their colorful plots and swashbuckling adventures have lately begun to infiltrate his consciousness, to the point where he sees himself as the hero of his own personal good vs. evil fantasies. When a new, flesh-and-blood fantasy descends in the person of lovely Lucinda Styles, Philip's harmless diversions take a sinister--and violent--turn, for Lucinda is promised to a wealthy and dangerous thug, Edgar Bothwicke, who has no intention of stepping aside to allow youthful romance its due...