Following his graduation from university in 1956, aspiring filmmaker Colin Clark travels to London to get a job on Laurence Olivier's next production. Production manager Hugh Perceval tells Colin that there are no jobs available, but he decides to wait for Olivier, whom he once met at a party. Olivier and his wife, Vivien Leigh, eventually show up and Vivien encourages Olivier to give Colin a job on his upcoming film ''The Prince and the Showgirl'', starring Marilyn Monroe. Colin's first task is to find a suitable place for Marilyn and her husband, Arthur Miller, the famous playwright, to stay at while they are in England. The press discover the house, but Colin reveals he secured a second house just in case, impressing Olivier and Marilyn's publicist, Arthur P. Jacobs.