An orphaned young girl, Jane Eyre (Anna Paquin), suffers humiliation and abuse at the hands of her aunt (Fiona Shaw) and is subsequently banished to a strict boarding school for several years. Upon her release, the adult Jane (Charlotte Gainsbourg) becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, caring for the child of Mr. Rochester (William Hurt) and his ailing wife (Maria Schneider). Jane and the enigmatic Rochester begin an intense relationship overshadowed by doubt and madness.