Tea with Mussolini is based on a true story based on the director's war-time upbringing. Luca (Baird Wallace) is the illegitimate son of a married man, and raised by his secretary, Mary Wallace (Joan Plowright). Luca is raised by a circle of ex-patriot women who love Luca. Lady Hester Random (Maggie Smith) is a snobbish widow of a consulate, and constantly reminds everyone of her status (even though she is living on a fixed income in pre-WWII Florence). Arabella (Judi Dench) is the soulful artist and animal lover, Georgie Rockwell (Lily Tomlin) is the American woman who watches over everybody, and Elsa Morgathal Strauss-Armistan (Cher) is a Jewish woman and widow of a rich man who comes and goes through Europe, and is almost destroyed by a scheming lover. Their friendships come full-circle as the World War II escalates in Europe, and we get a chance to see into the lives of six very complex characters trying to make their ways in the world.