In 1904 in Dublin James Joyce chats up Nora Barnacle a hotel maid recently come from Galway. She enchants him with her frank direct and uninhibited manner and before long he's convinced her to come with him to Trieste where he has a job with Berlitz. Over time Nora pulls him through phobias tolerates his drinking takes in his brother Stan and bests Joyce at 'the writin' game' to bring him back to Italy from Dublin where he's gone to open a cinema. But his sexual jealousy threatens the relationship and sends her back to Galway with the children. Is there any way to tame Jim's green-eyed monster? And will the lad ever get his stories published?