Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise and Emma Thompson star in this drama directed by Richard Laxton. When the young 19-year-old Euphemia 'Effie' Gray (Fanning) married the renowned art critic and historian John Ruskin (Wise), ten years her senior, she imagined a life filled with fun, excitement and passion. After five years of unconsummated marriage however, Effie seeks an annulment on the advice of long-time friend and confidant Lady Eastlake (Thompson). Stating the reason for the request as being her husband's impotency, Effie is forced to undergo an invasive, both physically and emotionally, examination to prove her virginity and to disprove Ruskin's claim that her body is disfigured. As she develops feelings for Ruskin's protege John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge), Effie tries her hardest to overcome her fears and past experiences to live a normal, happy life.