Edward "Ned" Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is England's most celebrated leading "lady", using his beauty and skill to make the great female roles his own. But when Charles II tires of seeing the same old performers, the ruler allows women to tread the boards and decrees that men may no longer play women's parts. Overnight, Ned becomes a non-entity -- that is, until his ex-dresser, Maria (Claire Danes), helps him become a real man again.