It's the summer of 1983 in Italy, and Elio, a precocious 17-year-old, spends his days in his family's villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading and flirting with his friend Marzia. One day, Oliver, a charming American scholar arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio's father, an eminent professor. Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives...

Feminist writer Agathe returns to France to help her sister, Florence, sort out their deceased mother's affairs. While there, Agathe decides to test the political waters and run in a local election. She also agrees to be interviewed for a documentary about successful women by two blundering reporters. As romantic entanglements, class resentments, and the uncooperative weather intrude, Agathe's life hysterically unravels, and the bumbling filmmakers...

Episodic story, divided into five chapters, each bearing the name of a character; main characters appear in most chapters. Most of the characters are connected by the fact that they hang out or work at the Brooklyn Cigar Store, where they tell stories and smoke a lot. Chapters explore the interpersonal relationships between this large and diverse group of characters.

Traveling cross-country, young writer Sal Paradise has his life shaken by the arrival of free-spirited Dean Moriarty and his girl, Marylou. As they travel across the country, they encounter a mix of people who each impact their journey indelibly.