A biopic about John Kennedy Toole's brief but extraordinary life. A student, teacher, and traveler, Toole (Mann) was a keen observer of the human condition. In 1964, he wrote his brilliant book but after years of unsuccessful attempts to get it published, the author fell into depression and died young, alone and unfulfilled. His grieving mother Thelma (Sarandon) would not allow her son to be forgotten, and she fought for over a decade to bring the novel to light.