In her public persona, Eleanor "Tussy" Marx (Garai) was a translator, actress, a children's rights activist, a feminist and a persuasive labour organiser, a tireless powerhouse determined to carry on her father, Karl Marx's (Gröning) work. In her private life, however, she was vulnerable and her attraction to the self-indulgent and self-important Edward Aveling (Kennedy) led her into misery and ultimately proved fatal.