The story takes place in the early 1800s, when the Brontë sisters Charlotte and Anne have made the decision to leave their family to become governesses with other families, leaving behind their sister Emily and brother Branwell. The two sisters long to break free from their tedious life to experience the outside world, far away from their sheltered life in Yorkshire, England, to prepare them for their careers as writers. The story takes us on a journey through the lives of the Bronte siblings, and their tumultuous relationships with one another.