Throughout three stages of Chiron's life -- childhood (Hibbert), his teenage years (Sanders) and adulthood (Rhodes) -- he struggles to figure out who he is and what his place is in the world. With an abusive and drug-addicted mother (Harris) at home, his only real friend is Kevin (Piner, Jerome, Holland), with whom he forges an increasingly strong friendship. With bullies frequently picking on him during his childhood and an unloving environment at home, Chiron's relationship with Kevin is one of the only bright points in his otherwise bleak life.
After maiming his hands in a horrific car accident, renowned-but-arrogant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) begins a desperate search for a treatment that can help him regain his manual dexterity. After exhausting all avenues of traditional medicine, he seeks out a more mystical treatment in Nepal. There, he learns that magic is real, and he begins learning how to wield it under the tutelage of the enigmatic Ancient One (Swinton). Meanwhile, a bitter former student (Mikkelsen) plans a betrayal that could destroy the entire world.
When Royal Canadian Air Force intelligence officer Max (Pitt) is paired up with French resistance fighter Marianne (Cotillard) to assassinate a high-ranking German official during World War II, they end up falling for each other, despite both knowing that such feelings can be dangerous in their line of work. Max takes Marianne back to London, where they get married and start a family, but a year later, he is informed by his superiors that she's a suspected German spy. He's tasked with finding out the truth and, if she is indeed an enemy spy, executing her himself despite his feelings. Refusing to follow his orders, Max sets out to uncover the truth about the woman he loves.