A woman is torn between betraying her benefactor and keeping her pledge to the man she loves in this romantic drama. Nancy (Kathleen Quinlan) and Michael (Stephen Collins) are two college students who have fallen in love and want to get married. However, Michael's widowed mother, Marion (Beatrice Straight), is opposed to the match; she wants Michael to take over the family business, and she's convinced that Nancy would be a bad influence. Later, Nancy and Michael get into a terrible auto accident -- he falls into a deep coma and she suffers severe facial disfigurement. Neither Nancy or her family have the money for plastic surgery; Marion agrees to pay for Nancy's facial reconstruction, but only under the condition that she change her name and never see Michael again. Nancy has little choice but to agree, and she changes her name to Marie; however, years later "Marie" meets Michael, and their love begins anew. The Promise was based on a story by best-selling author Danielle Steele.