John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, is a dissolute and brilliantly witty seventeenth-century poet whose appetite for debauchery and self-destruction puts him at odds with polite society and ultimately with King Charles II himself. Despite his remarkable gifts, he wastes his talents on drink, licentiousness, and provocation, while attempting to mentor a young actress and stage an ambitious theatrical production. His excesses exact a devastating physical and personal toll, leading him towards ruin and an early death.