Recognized as one of the great directors of Hollywood, for films such as Revenge is Mine (1949), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), King of Kings (1961) or 55 Days in Beijing (1963), Nicholas Ray is painfully interrupted by the industry to which he contributed with artistic mastery. The invitation of the University of New York to teach a course of directing of actors recovers it for the next generations, by giving as a result the film We can not return home (1973-1976, made with his students) and this extraordinary text, whose lessons are dotted with brief and sharp essays in which he talks about acting problems, of alcoholism, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Wim Wenders and many more.