It is late 1953. Poet Dylan Thomas is visiting the US to give a series of readings of his work, and to write the libretto of an opera for the composer Stravinsky in California. Exhausted and suffering from writers' block Thomas is desperate for the money the tour will earn for him. He is drinking heavily and his behaviour becomes increasingly unreliable and erratic as the tour progresses. He is also pursuing a guilt-ridden affair with Liz Reitel. In flashback we see the story of Thomas's early life, including his relationship with his stern father D J Thomas. The deal with Stravinsky falls through and Thomas returns to New York. His drinking is now out of control and he collapses after drinking "eighteen straight whiskies". A doctor administers an injection of morphine and Thomas falls into a coma and does not recover.