In the glimmering waters of the Italian coastline during 1962, a charming young innkeeper fantasizes of a life beyond his quiet village. His reverie is broken by the sudden appearance of an enigmatic American starlet, whose beauty is matched only by the secret of her dwindling health. As the two form a connection bound by dreams and disillusionment, an intricate tapestry of lives is woven across the decades that follow, leading to a modern-day Hollywood studio where memories and regrets collide. Jess Walter's 'Beautiful Ruins' bridges the past and present, flipping through the resplendent turmoil of the film industry and the quiet desperation of unfulfilled affection, revealing how our lives are but ruins of beautiful dreams.