Several years after leaving the orphanage to which her father never returned for her Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar both. She''s both a seamstress for the performers and a singer earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats. When she falls in love with English businessman Arthur Capel further opportunities open up though life becomes ever more complicated.