A profile of influential "Naked Lunch" author William S. Burroughs (1914-97), featuring archival footage and remarks from musicians Jello Biafra, Iggy Pop and Patti Smith; and filmmakers Gus Van Sant and John Waters. The film examines how being openly gay in a closeted age affected him; his use of drugs; and the events that shaped his life, including the accidental death of his wife Joan Vollmer during a drunken "William Tell" game in 1951 Mexico, which he said led him to take up writing.