Plot summary

Overlooking the eternal Colosseum, the moonlit terrace of the cynical intellectual and fiercely fashionable king of decadent Rome's nightlife--one-off novelist Jep Gambardella--is the ideal place to contemplate about life, mortality, art, and the fleeting youth. For decades, the elegant sexagenarian journalist has been living in an endless party; however, the invincible death is here to remind Jep that all good things must come to an end--including his lavish but superficial lifestyle. Now, intimate but temporary acquaintances attempt to stimulate the perpetually-uninspired writer, but in the endless search of undiluted beauty, one needs an awakening--even a rude one.—Nick Riganas