Lady Macbeth

In 1865, Katherine lives in a loveless marriage to Alexander Lester on Boris's rural Northumberland estate. She is forced to maintain a strict schedule and is forbidden from leaving the house. Boris scolds her for not giving Alexander a son, while Alexander's sexual interest seems limited to watching her naked body as he masturbates.

Boris and Alexander must depart on separate business matters, leaving Katherine alone in the house for the first time in memory. With the estate temporarily empty, she experiences freedom to wander the surrounding grounds and alleviate her boredom.

Katherine discovers Anna suspended from the ceiling of an outbuilding, bound by men who claim they are weighing a sow. She frees Anna and begins to feel sympathy and attraction toward one of the workers, Sebastian. This marks a shift from neglect to danger in the household.

The next day, Katherine encounters Sebastian again as she wanders the grounds. He forces his way into her room, and they begin an affair. The affair introduces a secret tension that will destabilize the estate.

Anna informs the local priest about what is happening, but Katherine sends him away rather than seeking help. The religious warning is dismissed, and the affair continues in secrecy.

When Boris returns home, he learns of the affair and beats Sebastian, locking him in a stable. He also strikes Katherine when she demands Sebastian's release, exposing the household's violence.

In a calculated act, Katherine poisons Boris's food, and he chokes to death in the next room while she calmly converses with Anna. The murder removes the patriarch and clears the way for her control.

Anna is terrorized into muteness, and Boris is buried without suspicion. Katherine takes over the estate and the affair with Sebastian continues openly, with Katherine now acting as the mistress of the manor.

Alexander confronts Katherine and Sebastian, accusing her of infidelity. Katherine tempts him by summoning Sebastian into the marital bed, where they carry on in his presence. A violent struggle ensues and Katherine kills Alexander; they bury his body in the woods and destroy his horse.

Agnes arrives with a young boy named Teddy, claiming he is the product of an affair between Alexander and her daughter. Katherine reluctantly shelters them, while Sebastian resents the change and returns to the outbuilding. The dynamics of the household begin to shift again.

Katherine discovers she is pregnant, but cannot inform Sebastian. She grows fond of Teddy, who disappears after Katherine scolds him. Sebastian finds Teddy by a waterfall and rescues him.

The couple uses an opportunity when Teddy's grandmother sleeps to smother the boy. Sebastian hides in the woods while Katherine claims Teddy died in his sleep. The village doctor remains skeptical when the truth is debated.

Sebastian returns, guilt-ridden, and confesses everything to the village doctor. Katherine reframes the confession, accusing him of murdering with Anna, and her word is believed over his due to Anna's muteness.

Sebastian and Anna are taken away by the police, while the remaining servants abandon the estate. Katherine stays behind, alone with her unborn child, contemplating a future without companionship.

With the others gone, Katherine remains alone in the house, carrying an unborn child and facing an uncertain future. The estate quiets as she contemplates the consequences of her actions and the price of her dominance.