电影改编自真实事件。家庭的破裂令詹姆斯（卢克·崔德威 Luke Treadaway 饰）遭受了巨大的打击开始自暴自弃，他染上了毒瘾，身无分文，成为了一名流连在街头的卖艺者。瓦尔（琼安·弗洛加特 Joanne Froggatt 饰）是负责詹姆斯的戒毒所医生，在她的帮助下，詹姆斯终于有了一个能够遮风挡雨的家，瓦尔坚信詹姆斯能够凭借自己的意志，彻底摆脱毒品的诱惑。
某日，一只流浪猫闯进了詹姆斯的家，詹姆斯收养了它，给它取名鲍勃，当詹姆斯离开家走上街头卖艺的时候，鲍勃跟在他的身边寸步不离。很快，这一人一猫的组合便吸引了过路人的注意， 詹姆斯的经济状况因此得到了巨大的改善，与此同时，詹姆斯结识了住在隔壁的女子贝拉（鲁塔·盖德敏塔斯 Ruta Gedmintas 饰），在贝拉的身上，詹姆斯重新燃起了对爱的渴望。

At the lush Evenswood estate in Concord, Massachusetts, Edith Adelon (Cari Shayne), a beautiful orphan, lives as the paid companion to the daughter of the wealthy Hamilton family, although they regard her as one of their own. Years ago, Henry Hamilton (Tom Conti) saved Edith from an Italian orphanage at the request of his long-deceased brother. Now, Edith is his daughter Amy's (Brigitta Dau) prized friend and confidante. As the Hamiltons await a trio of visitors for the annual Greens Cup horse race, Beatrice Hamilton (Meredith Baxter) asks for Edith's help in finding a suitable husband for a cousin, Ida Glenshaw (Brigid Walsh Brannagh), with one of two visiting eligible bachelors. But when it becomes clear that both the young men have affection for Edith and not Ida, jealousy soon develops, leading to malicious conniving and brutal backstabbing. Despite the growing love between Edith and one of the young suitors, because of their conflicting social classes, the couple is reminded time and again that their love can never be. The Inheritance is a story that centers on an innocent young woman's struggle to make sense of her position within the Hamilton household and in society, and the love she feels for her patrons, as well as for a young man she can never marry.

On December 14, 1997, a made-for-television film based on the book was aired on CBS as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, and is now on DVD. The movie was directed by John Erman, screenplay by Maria Nation and William Hanley. The movie is rated PG-13 for some abusive treatment of a child, and is 120 minutes including commercials. The movie was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Cast:
Julie Harris - Lenora Nelson
Jena Malone - Ellen Foster
Ted Levine - Bill Hammond
Glynnis O'Connor - Charlotte Nelson Hammond
Debra Monk - Aunt Nadine
Kimberly J. Brown - Dora
Barbara Garrick - Aunt Betsy
Kate Burton - Abigail
Zeljko Ivanek - Chief Inspector
Lynne Moody - Mrs. Douglas
Bill Nunn - Mr. Douglas
Allison Jones - Starletta Douglas
Amanda Peet - Julia Hobbs
Timothy Olyphant - Roy Hobbs
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When a young woman's niece and nephew are threatened with foster care after her sister is hospitalized following yet another overdose, she flees with them until they land in the sleepy town of Bethlehem just before Christmas and a series of kindnesses and coincidences gives the trio a chance at happiness.

真实事件改编，在一场毁灭性的风暴中，卡拉和她的母亲将数百只海龟从死亡线上拯救出来，并在此过程中体会到了生活中的真谛。