Byron charts the rise and fall of an irresistible and devastatingly handsome genius who had it all and threw it all away. It begins as Byron's struggle for acceptance as a poet is reversed by the publication of Childe Harolde's Pilgrimage, which turns him into an overnight success and the toast of London society--the 19th century equivalent of a bad-boy rock star. While disdaining social conventions, he needs money, so marries wealthy pious Annabella Milbanke after becoming in-famous for his affairs with serving girls, society beauties, and his half-sister, leaving the landscape littered with illegitimate children. As his reputation spreads, it is permanently tarnished, so Byron abandons England for self-imposed exile in Venice, and dies after taking up the Greek struggle for independence from the Turks.

Originally produced as a British made-for-TV-movie in 2003. Special features: Previews (3 min.).

Episode One: The summer of a dormouse (72 min.) -- Episode two: The eloquence of action (73 min.).