At the beginning of the 20th century, British society is undergoing a period of momentous change, and Vanessa, Virginia and Duncan are at the vanguard of a revolutionary movement, creating a distinctive bohemian lifestyle. Surrounded by the finest progressive minds of the day - including the renowned writer Lytton Strachey, urbane art critic Clive Bell, and pioneering economist Maynard Keynes - they are determined to shake off the shackles of Victorian England.

The headstrong Vanessa and fragile Virginia must navigate their way through complex affairs, and both come to learn that the passionate pursuit of freedom can often be impossible. As the narrative shifts between the decades, their earlier and later lives intertwine; by the 1930s, Vanessa has settled into marriage and motherhood, and Virginia is enjoying huge public acclaim.

The emotional entanglements of their past have taken their toll - can the sisters truly escape the pall cast by their repressive parents, or will they ultimately inflict the same mistakes on generations to come?