Based on the 1990 novel, Possession: A Romance, by A.S. Byatt, this present-day story is the tale of two scholars (Aaron Eckhart, Gwyneth Paltrow) who discover that Randolph Ash (Jeremy Northam), a Victorian Era poet, had a secret extramarital affair with a lesser-known poet (Jennifer Ehle). The two scholars investigate the romance between their subjects, using the pair’s love letters to piece together clues, and soon find themselves falling for each other.