An older man, Orlando, spends a day at a spa and then heads to a nightclub to see a woman sing. She is his girlfriend Marina, and they are very much in love. After the performance, he takes her to dinner, and later at home, they make love against the floor to ceiling windows of their shared apartment. Later that night, he falls ill, and they rush to a hospital where he dies, and she is immediately treated like a criminal. Not, however, because of the bruises on his torso and the impact wound on his head he obtained from falling down the stairs on their way to the car, but because she is transgender.

The rest of _A Fantastic Woman_ follows Marina as she copes with losing the love of her life and coping with the prejudices of the doctors, the police, and the bulk of her lovers family. It’s not the easiest watch, but it’s a vital one.