克里夫·欧文饰演一名作家,其创作遇到到瓶颈,江郎才尽,而朱丽叶·比诺什饰演一名画家,同样郁郁不得志,两个人在一所学校里相逢了。分别教写作与绘画的他们展开了一场关于文字和图画谁更有力量的辩论之战。然而在针锋相对的背后,一段不同寻常的恋情也正在酝酿。A flamboyant English teacher (Clive Owen) and a new, stoic art teacher (Juliette Binoche) collide at an upscale prep school. A high-spirited courtship begins and she finds herself enjoying the battle. Another battle they begin has the students trying to prove which is more powerful, the word or the picture. But the true war is against their own demons, as two troubled souls struggle for connection.