Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. When she selects unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant to write her biography, Monique sees it as a chance to kickstart her flagging career. In Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens to the actress's story from her initial struggles in the 1950s Los Angeles to her peak and eventual retirement from show business in the 1980s, capturing her journey through ambition, friendship, and forbidden love. Evelyn's story gradually reveals how deeply her life is intertwined with Monique's, leading to dramatic and irreversible consequences.