Sam Waterston reads this three-and-one-half hour unabridged version of Thornton Wilder's bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning 1927 novel. On July 20, 1714, the finest rope bridge in Lima, Peru, breaks and sends five people plunging to their deaths in the river below. Brother Juniper, a Franciscan, takes it upon himself to investigate the tragedy in order to determine if "we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan."

Here are the stories of the Marquesa de Montemayor, who devoted her life to her daughter; Pepita, her Indian maid; Esteban whose love for his twin brother plays second fiddle to his feelings for an actress; Uncle Pio, coachman for the actress; and Jaime, the small son of the actress. These mysteriously linked lives are drawn together in the eyes of Brother Juniper who sees God's providential hand in action. The Bridge of San Luis Rey focuses on important questions about the meaning of life, love, and death.