In 1931, 23-year-old Jacob Jankowski is about to graduate from Cornell University's veterinary program when he learns that his parents died in a car accident, leaving him penniless. Distraught, he jumps onto a passing train, which happens to belong to the Benzini Brothers circus. He is hired to take care of the circus animals by the owner, Uncle Al, after his veterinary training is discovered.
Jacob befriends an equestrian performer named Marlena, who is married to the circus's violent animal trainer, August. Jacob also meets Rosie, an elephant that August struggles to train due to her understanding only Polish commands. With Jacob's help, Rosie learns incredible tricks and becomes the star of an iconic circus act with Marlena.
As Jacob and Marlena grow closer, August's paranoid behavior escalates. After discovering their affair, August brutally attacks them both. Marlena leaves August, but the circus owner wants them to reconcile for the sake of the show. Jacob and Marlena hatch a plan to escape with Rosie and some other circus workers.

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