Shot in a single sequence shot, mixing formats, color and black and white, the film vindicates the role of supporting actresses in theater, cinema and real life: Yuste Monastery (Spain), September 21, 1558. Emperor Charles V, decrepit and sick, like a Don Juan on his last night, is dying, while the most important women in his life appear like nightmares. This is the play, titled Letters to the Emperor, that a group of actresses is about to premiere. But things don't go as planned.