When Walter is diagnosed with lung cancer, despite his squeaky clean lifestyle, he has to tell his screenwriter partner, a chain-smoker. As Walter fights cancer he tries to put his affairs in order by teaching writing to prison inmates, talking to his son and ex-wife, and getting his partner to quit smoking.

Featuring a mesmerizing performance by Christopher Plummer as Prospero, Shakespeare's The Tempest is brought from the stage of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival to the cinematic screen.