At the center of the story is the story of a young village girl named Sidoni-Gabriel Colette (Keira Knightley), who marries the charismatic Parisian writer Henri Gautier-Villars (Dominique West), known under the pseudonym Willie. After marriage, Henri invites Colette to try himself as an author. Colette agrees, and unexpectedly for all her novel, telling about the modest provincial Claudine, becomes a real bestseller. Reeling in fame, Willie asks his wife to write another novel about Claudine, and in return, Colette demands that her name appear in the book as an author. When Henri refuses her, she decides to fight creative dependence and gender inequality.