tells the true, bittersweet story of the intense, short-lived relationship between young, aspiring writer Novalyne Price (Renée Zellweger) and famed pulp fiction author Robert E. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) in 1930s Texas, exploring their deep connection through conversation and shared imagination, ultimately hampered by Howard's debilitating devotion to his sick mother, his emotional instability, and his reluctance for true intimacy, leading to heartbreak and Howard's tragic suicide.