The film is set in 1611 on a single night where Shakespeare (Amendola) is at a crisis point in his career. It’s about how writers age, their jealousies, resentments, and regrets, why they can’t revisit their old glories, and how their writing can overwhelm their life. Shakespeare has sacrificed much of his family life for his theatrical success and now—haunted with guilt about missing his young son’s death to the plague—he is forced to reflect on the price at which glory comes.