After a period of 18 years, former slaves Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) and Paul Garner (Danny Glover) meet again and they decide to try and build a good life together. They are both still suffering from the traumatic experiences during the final days of slavery. One day, upon their return from the carnival, they find a strange girl, named Beloved (Thandie Newton). They take mentally disturbed girl into their home and she becomes good friends with Seth's daughter, Denver (Kimberly Elise). Paul suspects that Beloved carries a secret with her and that the secret is linked to trauma's from Seth's past as a slave. The distrust between Paul and Beloved tears the family apart and Paul finally leaves the house. This however, is only the beginning of the problems with Beloved.