A celebrated Italian film director finds his creative well running dry as he struggles to begin work on his latest picture, retreating instead into a fantasy world populated by the women of his past and present. His wife, mistress, muse, mother and collaborators each pull him in different directions as he grapples with artistic block and personal dissolution. The film blends musical numbers with drama to explore the tension between a man's self-mythology and the reality of his behaviour towards those around him.