Kevin Kline stars as Arthur Hundert, a dedicated and inspiring Classics professor who has devoted his life to teaching at an elite boys’ prep school. When a new student, Sedgewick Bell (Hirsch), the headstrong son of a powerful senator, joins his class, Mr. Hundert’s life is inexorably altered. It is a clash of wills and personalities as these two people seemingly battle for the hearts and souls of the other students at St. Benedictus. Spanning 20 years, the story resumes when Bell, now a powerful and influential businessman, brings the retired professor back into his life and world. At a reunion of his students, Hundert is faced with the fear that he may have failed the most important challenge of his life – to have been a great teacher.