Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the eponymous artist in this biographical drama. In Victorian London, eccentric artist Louis Wain works as an illustrator to provide for his five sisters and gains a modest amount of notoriety for his portraits of animals. He eventually leaves his family home and discovers the subject that would define his career after he marries his sisters' governess, Emily Richardson (Claire Foy). However, following the tragic and untimely death of his wife after a battle with illness Louis' mental health begins to rapidly deteriorate.