This movie is based on the life of popular writer Truman Capote who worked for The New Yorker. On 14 November 1959, two criminals break into a house in Kansas expecting to find a huge sum of money. However, they don't find anything valuable. Frustrated, they kill the entire family, including small children, in cold blood to remove all witnesses. When Capote (Philip Hoffman) learns about this, he decides to base his next novel on this incident. When the criminals are arrested, Capote meets them in jail to interview them. One of the criminals, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins) is more comfortable with Capote. As they meet multiple times, Capote becomes emotionally attached to Perry. He buys stuff for him and even appoints a lawyer for them who drags the case for many years. Ultimately, Capote could not finish his novel.