Young and amiable country doctor Charles Bovary (Hugh Bonneville) takes a wife, Emma (Frances O'Connor), after a pleasant courtship. However, Emma's lofty expectations of marriage, and later motherhood, are soon dissolved and replaced by a sense of oppression and mediocrity. Emma takes to overspending and committing adultery to add spice to her life, engaging in affairs with a wealthy man (Greg Wise) and a lawyer (Hugh Dancy) -- steps which may ultimately lead her husband to ruin.