University lecturer Dr Leah Dale has always prided herself on her academic integrity so when final year student Rose, submits a suspiciously top-grade essay, Leah is quick to call her out. But there’s more going on than meets the eye as Rose takes the challenge as a personal affront, and what begins as a seemingly open and shut case of academic deception soon spirals out of control.

Liverpool, 1978: What starts as a vibrant affair between a legendary femme-fatale, the eccentric Academy Award-winning actress Gloria Grahame (Bening), and her young lover, British actor Peter Turner (Bell), quickly grows into a deeper relationship, with Turner being the person Gloria turns to for comfort. Their passion and lust for life is tested to the limits by events beyond their control.