Margaret Mountford, a papyrology expert, investigates the legend of Sappho, the ancient world's most debated writer and the earliest known female voice in Western literature. The discovery of a lost papyrus with previously unknown song lyrics prompts Margaret to uncover the truth about Sappho. Was she a lesbian, a priestess, a courtesan, a strict teacher, or a wealthy woman, as history has suggested? The film explores how changing perceptions of Sappho reveal more about our own societal anxieties than about her life.