Dublin 1907. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Outspoken & flirtatious Molly Allgood is a Catholic girl from the slums of Dublin dreaming of stardom in America. Her lover John Synge is a troubled genius whose life is hampered by convention & by the austere & God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Their affair sternly opposed by friends & family is quarrelsome affectionate & tender. Many years later Molly now a poverty-stricken old woman makes her way through Londons bomb-scarred city streets alone but for a snowdrift of memories. Her once dazzling career has faded but her unquenchable passion for life has kept her afloat.