Painter Vanessa Stephen and her writer sister Virginia embark on a life of unexpected, post-Victorian freedom in bohemian Bloomsbury. But when they are introduced to flamboyant male admirers, their idyll is rocked and the sisters' relationship is threatened.

Vanessa and Duncan's daughter Angelica is grown up but still unaware of her true parentage. As tragedy hits the family, Vanessa is finally galvanised into revealing the secret she's withheld for so long. Angelica's horror at the betrayal is painfully damning of her upbringing and threatens to drive a lasting wedge between mother and daughter.