A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.

The story of Charlie Kaufman, a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing - and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," a book by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre.

Orleans wants to know how it feels to care about something passionately as well - especially after witnessing the fervor of John Larouche, the orchid poacher and the subject of her book, as he scours the Florida swamps for rare species of the captivating flower. Their lives become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the others.