In a remote English village, three sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne - live a simple life with their brother, Branwell, and their father, the pastor Patrick Brontë. Although compelled to take posts as governesses or private tutors, the four siblings nurture their artistic aspirations. Branwell's poems begin to interest other writers and each of the sisters publish a successful novel. The family's good fortune, however, is short lived, and soon tragedy strikes.