In this authorised biography, Derek Jarman's story stretches from the bleakness of post-war Britain and his RAF childhood to studenthood at the Slade and work as a designer for such figures as John Gielgud and Ken Russell. It tells how energetic home filmmaking with dazzling friends led to distinctive features like Sebastiane, Jubilee, The Tempest, Caravaggio and Blue. It is the story of a filmmaker, a gay activist, a painter and a gardener, and a vivid bohemian existence in a London long gone.

Jarman created a singular garden in the shingle surrounding his simple fisherman's cottage at Dungeness in Kent, which has become a site of memorial, celebration and pilgrimage. He became known as an impassioned and provocative spokesperson not only for gay men, but for anyone oppressed by bigotry.

Derek Jarman died of AIDS-related causes in February 1994 and Peake describes the inimitable courage and grace in the face of painful death, and the legacies Jarman left behind.