In 1959, osteopath Stephen Ward spots Christine Keeler, a gorgeous underage nightclub performer, and unsuccessfully attempts to get her telephone number. The next week, Christine is visiting her working class family in the country when Stephen drives up in his sportscar and takes her to a large Tudor style cottage on the grounds of Lord William Astor’s estate. Stephen explains that Astor lets him rent the cottage for one British pound per year because he lets Astor cheat him at bridge. As Stephen gives Christine a tour of Cliveden, the Astor manor, he explains that only people born to wealth and nobility, or the very beautiful, are invited to mingle with high society. He offers to tutor her for such a life. Soon, Stephen takes control of Christine’s look, turning her from a peroxide blonde to a brunette, and changing her clothes from “SoHo chic” to “Covent Garden sexy.” One night, after a party celebrating the Conservative Party winning Britain’s general election, Stephen invites a few politicians to his apartment for an orgy. After getting over her initial shock, Christine joins in. The next night, she enters the nightclub dressing room to find Mandy Rice-Davies, a cool blonde, sitting in her chair. Christine orders her to move, but Mandy refuses until the other girls gang up on her. Later, the girls dress as “Indians” for a dance number. Someone steals Mandy’s top, but Christine observes that the girl is so slight, no one will notice. During the number, a frustrated Mandy appears topless, upstaging Christine. After the show, Christine hears Mandy lying to her mother about how exciting the nightclub is. When Mandy hangs up, Christine asks her out for a drink. Afterward, Christine is helping Mandy sneak her possessions out of her apartment when they are caught by the landlady. Christine runs outside, where Lord Astor is waiting in his Rolls Royce. Pretending to cry, Christine embarrasses Astor into giving Mandy forty pounds to keep the landlady from calling police. Mandy moves in with Christine and Stephen, who parades the two girls before his wealthy friends. At one party, he introduces them to Eugene Ivanov, a military attaché for the Soviet embassy. On another night, the girls go to “Club 21.” There, they meet Douglas Fairfax, Jr., an American matinee idol. After pantomiming lesbian sex, they engage in a ménage à trois with Fairfax. Stephen’s friendship with Ivanov catches the attention of Mr. Woods, a member of British Military Intelligence (MI5), who asks Stephen to keep an eye on the Soviet attaché. Stephen invites Ivanov to his cottage, where Christine can be seen diving into the swimming pool. When Lord Astor leads his dinner guest, Secretary of War John Profumo, to the cottage, they find Christine dancing naked for Stephen and Ivanov. Christine tries to run inside the house, but Profumo catches her. They stare at each other in silence until flood lights are turned on to reveal Lady Astor, Valerie Profumo, and others of Astor’s party guests. Mrs. Profumo wraps a towel around Christine and separates the girl from her husband. Throughout the summer, Stephen throws parties at which Ivanov and Profumo vie for Christine’s attentions. One day, Stephen arranges for Ivanov to drive Christine to London, and the two end up in bed. When Stephen finds out, he calls Mr. Woods at MI5. The next day, Profumo arrives and takes Christine on a drive. Stephen is disappointed when Christine reports back that Profumo was a complete gentleman, but lightens up when she predicts he will call her soon. That night, Stephen and a friend drive Christine to a Jamaican club in East London to procure marijuana. Fearing he looks too much like someone from “Scotland Yard,” Stephen sends Christine to talk to Lucky Gordon, a tall Jamaican. Lucky only agrees to the sale if Christine accompanies him inside the club. As Stephen and his friend smoke marijuana, Christine dances with Lucky. That night, she makes love to him in his flat. Days later, she has her first sexual encounter with Profumo. During one of their trysts, Lucky telephones and asks to see Christine, but she hangs up and tells Profumo it is the nightclub owner asking about the show. Christine is happy balancing her affairs with Ivanov, Profumo, and a few other men. However, Profumo worries he will be recognized going to the cottage. He tells Christine she cannot trust Stephen, so unless she finds another apartment, their affair is over. Insisting that Stephen cannot live without her, Christine breaks off the affair. When she informs Stephen, he tells her she made a mistake, as Profumo will be Prime Minister someday. Irate, Christine yells that she is young and sick of being given to old men, then takes Mandy for a night at the Jamaican club. There, she seduces a Jamaican gangster named Johnnie Edgecombe, but when they wind up in bed, Lucky appears and attacks the other man. Johnnie pulls out a razor blade and gashes Lucky’s cheek. Terrified, Christine rushes back to Stephen. She is amused to find Mandy in Stephen’s bed. The next day, Johnnie appears outside Stephen’s cottage, demanding Christine run away with him before Lucky can take his revenge. When Christine refuses, Johnnie pulls out a revolver and shoots the door. After he leaves, Christine is brought to the police station. Stephen meets her there. He tells her she is out of control and urges her to leave before she destroys his reputation. Christine counters that Stephen brought her to the Jamaican club, the orgies and sex parties; therefore, she is what he made her. Stephen refuses to take responsibility and leaves her standing outside in the rain. A reporter named Kevin asks her to accompany him for a cup of tea. The distraught Christine admits to the Profumo affair, insisting it was Stephen’s fault. Kevin calls his editor to let him know he has stumbled onto a huge story. The next day, Christine’s picture is on the front page of every London newspaper as part of the shooting story. Stephen meets with Ivanov, who is being recalled to the Soviet Union. Ivanov warns him that he will be made the scapegoat, but Stephen laughs, and predicts the whole affair will be forgotten in a week. At Mandy’s urging, Christine signs a contract to sell her story. To counter the rumors, Profumo makes a personal statement, assuring the House of Commons that there was no “impropriety” in his relationship with Christine. To control the situation, Lord Hailsham, a Conservative Party leader, contacts Scotland Yard to investigate Stephen. Soon, friends and acquaintances are being detained and questioned. Stephen appeals to Hailsham to call off the witchhunt, warning that he will be forced to defend his reputation by revealing the truth. Hailsham warns him that it is illegal to blackmail the government. Stephen telephones Mr. Woods at MI5 for assistance, but the man refuses his calls. Later, Lord Astor asks him to move out of the cottage. Christine is interrogated by police who accuse her of being a prostitute with Stephen as her pimp. She argues that Stephen is the only man she ever loved, and they are both innocent. Months pass as more revelations of sexual deviations of the rich and powerful are aired in the press. Questions of national security are raised when it is discovered that Christine was sleeping with both the Secretary of War and a Soviet “spy.” Profumo is forced to resign. Weeks later, Christine visits Stephen, and he confesses he always feared that someday his friends would betray him. He promises to drag down everyone if they come after him. Stephen is charged with procuring and living off immoral earnings. Although Christine and Mandy testify they were not prostitutes, nor did they give Stephen money other than rent, the prosecution insists he lived off their “wages of sin.” Later, Stephen’s defense attorney cross-examines Christine and accuses her of using Stephen so she could sell her memoirs. A few nights later, Stephen commits suicide by overdose of barbiturates. In his suicide note, he states he would rather “get” himself than be gotten by the “vultures.”