Jean-Dominique Bauby, a 43-year-old Elle magazine editor, regains consciousness in a Berck-sur-Mer hospital after a massive stroke, only to discover he has locked-in syndrome, leaving him almost completely paralyzed except for his left eye. Despite this, he learns to communicate by blinking his eye to spell out words, and with the help of a translator, he sets out to write a book about his life in his current state.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The film tells the extraordinary story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a renowned Elle editor who defies death after a stroke, only to find himself trapped in a physically paralysed body, with the sole exception of his one functioning eye.