An original film inspired by the life of paleontologist Mary Anning, the period film transports audiences to the English coastal town of Lyme Regis in the 1840s, introducing the great scientific mind (Kate Winslet) as a lonely, cross woman living a life of mostly solitude – running a shop for tourists selling off her various fossil discoveries, and taking care of her elderly mother (Gemma Jones). Her routine is interrupted, however, when a tourist fascinated by the field of paleontology named Roderick Murchison (James McArdle) arrives in town and offers money for the opportunity to watch her work before setting out on his own expedition. With him is his young, sickly wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan), for whom doctors have recommended a trip to the coast, with the hope being that the sea air can cure her melancholia.
