In his earliest theatrical years of acting, writing, and directing, Molière was often on the run from creditors, until finally they caught up with him and he spent time in debtors prison. Following his release he mysteriously disappeared. When he reemerged Jean-Baptiste Poqueline, fronting his own traveling comedy troupe, went on to become the great French playwright known the world over as Moliere. So much is history. It's the mysterious gap that concerns our film and it is pure fiction, told in the tone and style of Moliere himself (even if it fails to match his wit). It is 1644 and the young playwright is sprung from prison by a wealthy, married bourgeois gentleman named Jordain, who agrees to pay the debtor's debts in exchange for help on a secret project. Jordain desires to make the beautiful Calimene his mistress and has written a play to perform for her. Moliere will take up residence in his home as a priest, ostensibly to tutor Jordain's daughter, but really to teach the father to act and dance and improve his writing and in general to smooth out the man's crude edges. However, Moliere falls in love with the neglected Elmire, his benefactor's wife.