Based on Paul Gallico's bestselling novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a widowed cleaning lady (Lesley Manville) in 1950s London who falls madly in love with a Dior haute couture dress and decides she wants one of her own. After working, starving, and gambling to raise the money to pursue her dream, she embarks on an odyssey to Paris that will not only change her prospects, but also shape the future of this iconic fashion capital.