Passages from Jane Austen's letters and books dramatize the final years of her too-short life. Olivia Williams plays the free-spirited "spinster" Jane, who comes to terms with the lost loves of her past while advising a niece (Imogen Poots) about potential suitors; and, by chance, discovers a possible match for herself with a young doctor (Jack Huston). Greta Scacchi portrays Jane's older sister Cassandra.