Suraj Kapoor is a single, wealthy young man. One day he meets Shubangi, and they fall in love. Shortly thereafter they marry and settle down to enjoy a harmonious married life. During their stay at a hotel, the couple are approached by a man who claims that Shubangi is his wife and her real name is Madhu. Suraj and Shubangi are shocked and ask him to leave, which he does.
Paul Hegstrom (Ritter) is a seriously disturbed family man who puts his wife and children through physical, mental, and emotional abuse. Drawing what he calls "courage" through a whiskey bottle, he severely beats his wife, Judy (Harley Jane Kozak) until one day his eldest daughter Tammy confronts him. Paul leaves the family home and moves in with his mistress, Beth French (Gibney) but hospitalizes her a short while later following another one of his violent rages. To avoid having to spend time in jail, Paul is forced to get psychological help to be able to overcome his problems.
The film starts at some fourteen years after Fereshteh (Niki Karimi) and Royā (Merilā Zāre'í) became friends, while studying architecture at a university in Tehran. The events in the life of Fereshteh over the course of the preceding fourteen years are revealed through a series of flashbacks that represent Feresheh's and Royā's reminiscences.
Jennifer Morgan (Tiffani Amber Thiessen) is a young painter who has secluded herself from the world since being raped two years earlier. At a family party she meets Chris Gallagher (Eric Close), who falls in love with her. She is reluctant to be intimate with him, but he convinces her to marry him, by which she hopes to let go of her tragic past. Shortly after the ceremony, Chris' 17-year-old cousin Dana (Alyson Hannigan) warns Jennifer that she will not be happy with him, but Jennifer does not listen. Because Chris has recently joined the Navy, Jennifer agrees to move with him to the seaside, where she befriends Nancy Halloran (Lorrie Morgan).
In Kuwait, a military unit uncovers an American helicopter downed by friendly fire at least three years ago. As the wreckage is inspected, Master Sergeant Sam Harper, one of the burnt bodies within, springs to life and kills a sergeant and a major, and returns to an inert state after muttering, "Don't be afraid, it's only friendly fire!"
Rebecca Dubrovich (Doherty) is a nurse, who years ago was brutally raped. Ever since, she has been skeptic about dating men and instead focusses on her work and her training for the Santa Barbara triathlon. Her life and look on love changes when she meets and falls in love with billionaire Dick Strang (Matheson), the owner of a large fitness chain. She opens up to him about her past, and admits that she was a rebellious girl for a while who got caught up in drugs. Dick helps her leave behind the past, while getting involved in a romantic relationship with her. Not long after their first meeting, he already asks her to give up med school and move to Houston for him. Rebecca finishes up her semester and heads out to Houston, where she is talked into becoming the image of Dick's fitness company.
Sick of his baseball-obsessed father Frank's abuse, a boy beats him to death with a bat while practicing in 1981. Seventeen years later, catcher David J. Walker of The Devils is kicked out of a baseball game attended by scouts, and is blamed when The Devils lose. On the same day, David's girlfriend leaves, tired of him putting his love of baseball before her, and he is informed by Coach Foster that his contract is not being renewed.
Jake "the Muss" Heke is now fighting to save his son Sonny from a gang lifestyle after his eldest son, Nig, is killed in a gangland shootout. Jake goes through a period of hopelessness as he tries to restore his family to a functioning state after his anger, drinking, and violence (depicted in the first film) tore them apart. He still has trouble accepting the old traditional ways of the Māori people, but he begins to realise the importance of family and regrets what his former actions have done to them. Towards the end of the film, Jake does his best to reconcile with his family, even going so far as to save his son's life despite great personal risk to himself. This action, along with several others, serve to highlight Jake's changing characteristics.
The story is told in the present and flashbacks of a young woman, Annie (Caroline Dhavernas) who was abused by her husband, Simon (Brendan Fehr) whilst his brother, George (Corey Sevier) was seemingly helpless to intervene. The film hits an interesting twist when Simon is murdered. Annie is convinced that she is the murderer, even as she gets herself admitted to the gaol in the Fort.
Clara (Tahira Carter) meets John (Deleon Walters) at a particularly vulnerable time in her life. She is "blinded" by love and he becomes her world. The intense relationship then becomes violent and Clara is forced to take drastic action to protect herself and their son Chris.
Sugunan (Jayaram) is a stereotypical Malayali husband who habitually underestimates his wife Bindu (Gopika) in managing a family. Sugunan wants his wife only to keep house - cook food for him, iron his clothes and clean the house. Bindu does all these and more, but there's never a word of appreciation or a compliment from her husband. He doesn't even acknowledge the work that she is doing without any rest in her life. This often results in quarrels between them, but like any docile Indian wife, Bindu tolerates it for some time.
A young boy named Sean Donovan lives with his mother and abusive alcoholic father. A carjacker attacks his family one night, which results in his mother's murder. Afterward, his father Terry moves them to a nicer neighborhood.
The story centers around Frances Benedetto (Mary Stuart Masterson), a victim of domestic violence. The movie follows Frances's relationship to her increasingly abusive NYCPD officer husband (played by Anthony LaPaglia), who has the police force on his side, and her eventual escape to Florida with her son (played by Will Rothaar). Eventually her husband finds them and attacks her. Her son's sports coach comes to the house when she does not pick her son up from practice on time and finds her beaten and bruised in the hallway. Meanwhile, her husband kidnaps their son. Five years later, she has married the coach and has a daughter, although she has never found her son. Her son meets up with his aunt by chance on the street, and Frances (her name now changed to Beth) receives a phone call from him.
The Saikia family are an extremely wealthy family in Assam. The two sons of the family are Sanjay (Sayaji Shinde) and Sunil Saikia (Sanjay Suri). The latter being the kinder of the two whilst the former is very hot-tempered and has occasional mood swings. The parents decide to get him married to Durga (Raveena Tandon), a lower caste girl from a poor family, thinking she will be able to cope with Sanjay's temper. Sanjay initially refuses to marry Durga, but when his mother threatens to cut him off from the family will he relents. Thus, Durga marries Sanjay and looks forward to her new life. From day one, Durga is subjected to physical and mental harm by her husband. To add insult to injury, he spends their wedding night with a prostitute called Chameli. Durga continues to be tortured by her husband and after a drunken night he rapes her.
Pilar, a meek housewife living in Toledo, gathers a few belongings one night and flees her apartment with her seven-year-old son Juan. They find shelter with Pilar's sister, Ana, who is soon to marry her Scottish live-in boyfriend. Pilar's husband, Antonio, tries to make her change her mind, but she is tired and fearful of his abusive behavior. Determined to start a new life on her own, Pilar sends her sister to retrieve her belongings from the apartment she shared with her estranged husband. Once there, Ana discovers through medical bills that her sister has also been physically abused by Antonio. When he arrives, they have a confrontation.