Prolific writer W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) has known extraordinary international success, and today is considered one of the most important literary figures of the 20th Century. Born in France, he became an orphan at an early age. He lived in England in harsh conditions and that was the background for the characteristically sarcastic vision of his characters. He wrote Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, The Painted Veil and The Razor's Edge (or The Imperfect Marriage). Many of his works were made into films. He was the highest-paid writer in the 30s and also worked for the British Secret Service. A great traveller, he was the chronicler of the last moments of the British Empire. One of his characters, Ashenden, even inspired James Bond. However, this documentary, with testimonials from writers such as Armistead Maupin, focuses particularly in his passionate relationship with Frederick Gerald Haxton, his partner for 30 years. They lived together in the incredible Villa Mauresque, on the French Riviera, before ending he ended his days there with the manipulative Alan Searle. It was the life of a gay pioneer who dissected human passions in his works, and fame did not stop him from living homosexually with relative freedom..