A secret deal is forged between a playwright and a prince. Forty years later, the writer's life unravels as the pact catches up with him.
The year is 1776, and the beautiful young soprano Eliza Linley is forced to flee her home in Bath. A poor Irish writer, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, offers himself as her protector and, with only his charm to rely on, promises to take her to a convent in France where she believes she’ll find sanctuary. However, their journey takes an unexpected turn when Eliza falls seriously ill.
Forty years later, Sheridan enters Drury Lane theatre as a celebrated playwright and statesman. All of London has turned out to attend a revival of his comedy The Rivals, the play that made him famous when he was just 21. But what should be a triumphant night becomes an increasingly unsettling experience. As the play unfolds, Sheridan is haunted by memories long suppressed and has to confront his betrayal of Eliza, which culminated in a shameful bargain with the Prince Regent.
Sheridan’s past begins to catch up with him: his hope of regaining a seat in parliament is slipping away, and with it his immunity from debtors’ prison. All he need do to avoid ruin is ask the Prince Regent for help, but that is something he has vowed never to do again.