Young playwright William Shakespeare is struggling. Tormented by writer’s block, facing financial ruin, and overdue on a script for the demanding theater owner Philip Henslowe, Will is desperately trying to finish a new comedy tentatively titled Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. He needs a hit, but he lacks inspiration.

Enter Viola de Lesseps, a wealthy and spirited noblewoman who dreams of acting on stage—a profession strictly forbidden to women by Elizabethan law. Determined to follow her passion, Viola disguises herself as a young man named “Thomas Kent” and auditions for Will’s play, instantly captivating the playwright with her talent.

As Will unknowingly falls for his new leading “man” in disguise, he also crosses paths with the real Viola at a society ball. A passionate, forbidden love affair blossoms between the penniless playwright and the high-born lady, who is already promised in an arranged marriage to the cold and debt-ridden Lord Wessex.

As their secret romance deepens, it begins to bleed into Will’s writing, transforming his clumsy pirate comedy into the tragic masterpiece Romeo and Juliet. With the opening night approaching, a jealous fiancé closing in, and the Queen herself watching from the sidelines, Will and Viola must navigate a dangerous web of mistaken identities and royal decrees to keep their love—and the show—alive.