A look at the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe from his rise to fame in the 1970s to his untimely death in 1989.

In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.

Singapore Sling is chasing after Laura, a romantic memory from his past. One night he finds himself in a mysterious villa, watching two women bury a body. He falls into their trap and, in an atmosphere of isolation and decadence, the trio act out insane pleasure games and a ritual of blood and murder.

A beautiful young ballet dancer is accepted into a prestigious and exclusive dance academy. Overjoyed at the opportunity to further her career and repair her relationship with her boyfriend, she soon discovers that the academy has a dark side to it--and she may not be able to escape it.

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

Vittorio, an American novelist teaching in Rome, meets the beautiful but damaged Bianca and they rapidly fall into an urgent, tempestuous affair. He's hesitant over their relationship since she seems to thrive on conflict and is constantly baiting him into physical altercation. Bianca gives Vittorio an exquisite leather belt as a gift; he knows immediately that she wants him to whip her with it. Driven by his craving for her, Vittorio complies to Bianca's desire. Their relationship escalates into a dark realm of S&M which becomes more and more self-destructive.

A psychiatrist encourages his female patients to tell him their sexual problems, each as each relates her particular case, we see it in flashback.

A perverted cohabitation life of a student aiming to enter medical school and a prostitute at a pink salon. Every day he is tied up and tortured with an enema in the ass. And so, a strange life of two women and one man begins, involving a young girl, Kazue. Tired of love and perversion, the woman abandons the man and disappears... The man who lost her then...

Eva, an upper-class housewife, frustratedly leaves her arrogant husband and decides to enter the call girl business. She lets Yvonne, a prostitute, teach her the basics and both set out for prey together, until Eva starts an affair with Chris, who turns out to be a call boy, as well. Consequently, she moves into his penthouse, large enough for both to offer their services separately.

A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.

A computer wizard infiltrates a London sex club to get evidence for a shutdown, but falls for the proprietress.

A girl is sold to a brothel. She is destined to become a prostitute, but because she is still a child, she is made to work as a maid there. Because she grew up in the countryside, she is careless in everything she does, and is constantly mocked by the landlady and the prostitutes who work there. One day, the girl takes the undergarment she was ordered to wear and heads to the room of a prostitute's older sister. As soon as she opens the sliding door, she is shocked. There she finds her older sister tied up with rope and being tortured by a male customer. The girl instinctively shouts "Stop it!", but is shocked to see that the older sister does not seem to mind, but rather seems to enjoy it. Before long, the girl is unable to get the scene out of her head, and begins to secretly tie ropes around herself in her room...