The film tells the story of Doria Manfredi and of her relationship with Puccini, and the opera that resulted, Turandot. It was a disaster that was suppressed by either Puccini's publishers (Ricordi) or his family or both for almost 80 years, fearing that the consequences of revealing the truth of what had happened would damage sales of his work and further sully his already tarnished reputation as a philanderer. Robert Stephens gives a devastating performance as Puccini, and Virginia McKenna, lured out of semi-retirement, gives an emotionally draining performance as his wife Elvira. When the finished film was shown to Simonetta, Puccini's granddaughter, she said she was astonished at how close the film had come to the heart of the matter and in particular to the heart of that extraordinary - and still underestimated - great composer, Giacomo Puccini.