With his personal life in shambles, celebrated author William Shakespeare (Rupert Graves) accepts a commission to pen 17 new sonnets, which leads him into a troublesome love triangle involving a prostitute, "The Dark Lady," (Indira Varma) and an androgynous young lord (Tom Sturridge). Adapted from Shakespeare's passionate love poems, this enthralling BBC television drama also stars Zoë Wanamaker and Anna Chancellor.