Fictional romantic biopic of author Jane Austen. A young girl's future prospects in English society of 1795 are based around marrying for financial gain. As a rebellious twenty-year-old, Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) contemplates a future mapped out for her by her parents, when into her life rides trainee Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy). Handsome, intelligent and poor, Lefroy is initially scornful of the unstylish country family, but when Jane begins imposing her independent spirit, the pair soon realise they are falling in love. With her family increasingly concerned about the cost, both personal and financial, of continuing with the liason, Jane must decide between the path of love or honour.