In 1895, in cell 3, on floor 3, in Reading Gaol, we find Prisoner C33. His real name is Oscar Wilde (Toby Stephens), dramatist of genius, poet, wit, novelist, husband, father of two children, and until recently, the darling of London society. He has been imprisoned for the crime of having participated in a homosexual relationship. In despair, and fearing the onset of insanity, he fantasises being in conversation with his former self, before this nightmare began.