The year is 1613, and William Shakespeare (Kenneth Branagh) has been acknowledged as the greatest writer of the age.

But disaster strikes when his renowned Globe Theatre burns to the ground. Devastated, Shakespeare returns to Stratford, where he must face a troubled past and a neglected family. Haunted by the death of his only son Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationships with his wife and daughters. In doing so, he is ruthlessly forced to examine his own failings as husband and father.

His very personal search for the truth uncovers secrets and lies within a family at war.