The story is based on Stefan Zweig's 1929 novel Widerstand der Wirklichkeit (translated into English as Journey into the Past) and stars Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman, Richard Madden, and Maggie Steed.

[3][4] In 1912 Germany, a freshly graduated engineer with modest origins, Friedrich Zeitz (Richard Madden), starts work at a steelworks owned by ageing tycoon Karl Hoffmeister (Alan Rickman).

When Hoffmeister's declining health starts to confine him permanently to his house, Friedrich has to visit him at home for briefings, which he then relays back to the steelworks.

Through his visits, Friedrich makes the acquaintance of Hoffmeister's younger wife Charlotte (Rebecca Hall), a beautiful and reserved woman in her early 30s.

Justin Chang of Variety described the film as "awkward [and] passionless]"[7] and Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News commented "A romantic triangle featuring Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman and "Game of Thrones" costar Richard Madden has no business being this dull".