Swedish writer Agnes von Krusenstjerna writes romantic fiction, which will soon evolve into erotic literature. All her life, marked by depressive disorders, she will fight against her family’s aristocratic values and assert her freedom to write about everything—including sexuality and mental health.

All the resplendence of a period piece cannot gloss over a crisis of the soul in this feverish biopic. Writhing in mad frustration at noble politesse, the writer at the heart of this film was devoted to naked truth, courting scandal with her overtly sexual works—much like Mai Zetterling herself.