Charles Darnay is the nephew of the Marquis St. Evremonde in pre-Revolutionary France, but disagrees with the French feudal system and emigrates to England, where he is falsely accuses him of being a spy. He is found innocent through the skill of Sydney Carton, an alcoholic English barrister. Darnay is supported by beautiful Lucy Manette, whom he met on the trip across the Channel, and her father, Doctor Manette, a victim of the aristocracy unjustly imprisoned for many years in the Bastille. Carton falls in love with Lucy, but she loves Darnay and subsequently marries him. Carton's love remains unrequited, but it propels him to sobriety. After Darnay is tricked into returning to France during the Reign of Terror and subsequently sentenced to death by a revolutionary tribunal, it falls to Carton to save his romantic rival's life.