John Quincy Archibald's son Michael collapses while playing baseball as a result of heart failure. John rushes Michael to a hospital emergency room where he is informed that Michael's only hope is a transplant. Unfortunately, John's insurance won't cover his son's transplant. Out of options, John Q. takes the emergency room staff and patients hostage until hospital doctors agree to do the transplant.

Daniel Jakor is one of the most prolific and successful artists the world has never heard of. Struggling to sell his own art, he soon finds his true genius lies not in the creation of his own work but in the forgery of the great masters that have come before him- artists like Picasso, Monet, Degas and Renoir. And with the help of a Tay Murphy, corrupt gallery owner in Boston, Daniel soon learns the intricacies of the art world as he becomes a true master himself. But Tay's life is spiraling out of control and his personal demons have brought him to the edge where he hangs on by a thread. Indebted to the mob for more than he can possibly pay back, Tay gets Daniel roped into working for Seamus White, the head of the Irish "family" in New England and an avid art collector. As Seamus's schemes become bolder and bolder, not only pushing the boundaries of Daniel's ability but the limits of forgery itself...

Helen is the young girlfriend of good-looking Jackson Baring. When Helen gets pregnant and marries Jackson, they decide to move to his hometown, Kilronan, and have a baby there. But his mother Martha, who lives there, starts to do weird things, and obviously she's not too friendly to Helen.

In two interconnected stories Robert, a jaded middle-aged New Yorker, goes to Serbia to make quick cash by marrying someone for U.S. immigration papers. The plan goes awry when the promised cash never arrives. At the same time, a young Serbian immigrant named Branko struggles in a never forgiving New York, desperately trying to bring his girlfriend from Serbia to USA.

Amber is 40, beautiful, rich, spoiled, and arrogant beyond measure. Nothing makes this woman happy, including her wealthy but passive husband (Tony), a pharmaceutical kingpin. When Tony takes her on a private cruise from Greece to Italy, Amber is unimpressed at this impromptu no-frills vacation, and takes out her anger on the ship's first mate, Giuseppe. When a storm leaves the two shipwrecked on a deserted island, however, the tables suddenly turn...