Based on the real-life scandal that shocked Victorian-era England, this movie tells the story of Euphemia "Effie" Gray (Dakota Fanning). At nineteen, she married the prominent art historian and critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise), but Ruskin refused to consummate their marriage. Lonely and frustrated, Effie is drawn to pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge), and finds a friend and champion in Lady Elizabeth Eastlake (Dame Emma Thompson). After five years trapped in a loveless marriage, Effie will defy the rules of Victorian society.