In Apartheid-torn South Africa, poet Ingrid Jonker (Carice van Houten) struggles tragically in search of love and a sense of home.

A lonely American boy living in Scotland makes a new best friend, a fellow nine year-old who happens to be a vampire.

After their mother dies, two boys flee their mean aunt and head for Venice, Italy, where they meet Scipio, the mysterious "Thief Lord." Along with a small gang of abandoned kids, the boys start robbing the rich to support themselves.