Fassbinders most personal film follows the story of Elvira, a transgendered woman abandoned by her lover, subjected to daily cruelties and social inequalities whose only friend is a prostitiute in just as marginalized position as Elvira is herself. Made after the death by suicide of his ex-lover, In a Year of 13 Moons is an intense, passionate and heartfelt admission that real life is a messy and cruel place.