As a child, young Jane is a poor orphan who is mistreated by her relatives. Cast out of Gateswood, her cruel Aunt Reed's house, she's sent to the grim Lowood School. Jane, who is spirited and outspoken, becomes the unfortunate scapegoat of Mr. Brocklehurst, the school's headmaster, and Miss Scatcherd, his assistant. Reaching womanhood, Jane, now a governess, travels to Thornfield Hall, a remote estate owned by Edward Rochester. Welcomed by Mrs. Fairfax, the kindly housekeeper, Jane is introduced to her pupil, a pretty French girl named Adele. Immediately, Jane feels at home in her new world, but nothing in her modest life has prepared Jane for Mr. Rochester, an enigmatic man who is alternately terrifying and compelling. Fascinated by Rochester's complex personality, Jane breaks all the rules by falling in love with her employer. But the dark passages of Thornfield Hall hold a terrible secret... a secret that comes between Jane and Rochester and forces her to leave her home and the man she loves.