An unsuccessful over-the-top actress becomes a successful over-the-top author in this biography of Jacqueline Susann, the famed writer of "Valley of the Dolls" and other trashy novels. Facing a failing career, Susann (Bette Midler) meets a successful promoter who becomes her husband. After several failures to place her in commercials and a television quiz show, he hits upon the idea for her to become a writer. In the early 1960s, her books were looked upon as trash and non-printable. But then the sexual revolution hit and an audience was born for her books. The story shows the hidden behind the scenes story of Susann's life, including her autistic son and her continuing bout with cancer that she hid up to her death.