Based on the 1993 non-fiction book Howard Hughes: The Secret Life by Charles Higham, the film depicted the life of Howard Hughes (DiCaprio), an aviation pioneer who became a successful film producer between the late 1920s and late 1940s while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive–compulsive disorder.
Diangkat dari buku nonfiksi terbitan 1993 berjudul Howard Hughes: The Secret Life karya Charles Higham, film ini berkisah tentang hidup Howard Hughes (DiCaprio), seorang pelopor penerbangan yang sukses menjadi produser antara akhir dasawarsa 1920-an dan 1940-an sementara secara simultan bertumbuh kurang stabil karena kerusakan obsessive–compulsive.