Eta istoriya ob iskushenii, lyubvi i predatel'stve legla v osnovu stsenariyev neskol'kikh ekranizatsiy. Yunaya krasavitsa, doch' obednevshego potomka drevnego aristokraticheskogo roda, kazalos', sozdana dlya schast'ya. No stradaniya presleduyut Tess, ona stanovitsya zhertvoy slastolyubivogo burzhua, teryayet rebenka, perezhivayet predatel'stvo muzha...