The famed writer Stephen Crane is travelling to a German clinic in search of a cure for the tuberculosis that threatens his life. Knowing it may be his last chance, he dictates the story of The Painted Boy, inspired by a real-life encounter. But as the story delves into the seedy underworld of turn-of-the-century Manhattan, Crane's health deteriorates and the outcome of the story becomes as critical as the author's life itself.