San Francisco in the 60s: Margaret, divorced and a single parent, meets and falls in love with Walter Keane at an art exhibition. With the charming, eloquent man, she hopes to finally have the beautiful life she has only dreamed of so far. Convinced of his wife's artistic talent, Walter tries to turn her paintings into money. Unfortunately, no gallery wants to exhibit the paintings of children with big, sad eyes. Without further ado, Walter sells the pictures himself and pretends to be the author of the "Big Eyes". Soon, the brilliant businessman made millions selling postcards, posters and prints - thousands of the "Big Eyes" found their way into America's living rooms. Under Walter's guiding hand, Margaret also keeps the secret of who created the pictures. But soon she can no longer live with the lie...