The scientific endeavor of Reich to understand the functioning of libido and to place it on a natural basis clashed with the obsession of the International Psychoanalytical Association with Freud's theory of the death instinct and the rivalries provoked by his intense personality, resulting in Reich being expelled from the Society in August 1934, without warning or explanation.

The radical authenticity of his work in the years that followed inevitably led him away from Freudian psychology. Now free from intellectual constraints, he expanded his scientific interests by documenting their evolution in his journals and letters.

There he describes his pioneering laboratory experiments to validate his views on the functioning of orgasm and to discover an unknown energy that exists throughout living matter. Simultaneously, the agony of a man who was unafraid to speak the truth is captured, fighting defamatory attacks and defying the repercussions this had on his professional and personal life.

He lived boldly and passionately, had confrontations and conflicts, was constantly evolving, and his persistent search for the simple truths of life made his personal life extraordinarily complex.