Kariyerinin en parlak günlerini yaşayan Charles Dickens, genç ve güzel bir kadınla tanışır. Ünlü yazara aşkla bağlı olan kadın, Dickens’ın ölümüne kadar onun gizli sevgilisi olarak kalacaktır. Yönetmenliğini Ralph Fiennes’ın üstlendiği film, Claire Tomalin’in kitabından Abi Morgan tarafından uyarlandı. Filmin kadrosunda Dickens’ı canlandıran baş rol Ralph Fiennes’in yanı sıra Felicity Jones, Michelle Fairley ve Kristin Scott Thomas gibi güzel oyuncular yer alıyor.

In the 1850s, Ellen Ternan is a minimally talented actress who catches the eye of the hailed British author, Charles Dickens. Bored with his intellectually unstimulating wife, Dickens takes the educated Ellen as his mistress with the cooperation of her mother. What follows is a stormy relationship with this literary giant who provides her with a life few women of her time can enjoy. Yet, Ellen is equally revolted by Charles' emotional cruelty and determination to keep her secret. In that conflict, Ellen must judge her own role in her life and decide if the price she pays is bearable.