Fresh-faced Jodhi May plays Anna, a stenographer sent to take dictation from the middle-aged and cantankerous Dostoevsky (Michael Gambon), who has just 27 days to complete a novel, or, as the result of a deal with his publisher, he will forfeit the rights to all his future work. The narrative switches from aspects of Dostoevsky's life to those of the fictional characters in the novel he is attempting to complete, in a film which focuses on Anna's rite of passage into Dostoevsky's chaotic, drinking and gambling lifestyle. Anna and the middle-aged writer become passionate about each other as they work closely together. Congratulations: Your vote has been cast