The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into chaos because of succession disputes. His weak son, Edward, is on his deathbed. Anxious to keep England true to the Reformation, a scheming minister John Dudley marries off his son, Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, whom he places on the throne after Edward dies. At first hostile to each other, Guildford and Jane fall in love, but they cannot withstand the course of power which will lead to their ultimate downfall.

On a rainswept afternoon in 1952, Hollywood and Broadway’s leading director, Elia Kazan met his closest collaborator, the playwright Arthur Miller. As the anti-communist crusade of McCarthyism blacklisted hundreds of their colleagues, Kazan and Miller faced a stark choice. Should they betray their friends, or risk never working again?