Plot summary

The first world war marked the end of the Ottoman Empire that ruled the Middle East for 5 centuries. The colonial powers moved into the void. Britain controls Egypt in 1914. Winston Churchill (Christopher Fulford) is the defense minister and is trying to figure out what the British can gain control over, outflanking the Russians and the French. Britain eyes Iraq and Kuwait as their area of control. They have to deal with Ibn Saud, who wants a separate area for himself as its own country. Churchill realizes that they have no real intelligence about the tribes and the men ruling them. Their only source is Gertrude..In 1902 Gertrude Bell (Nicole Kidman), a daughter of wealthy British parents (mother Florence (Jenny Agutter) & father Hugh (David Calder)), has no interest in the social life of the London elite. Balls, receptions, and a life of privilege bring her only boredom.Aspiring to some usefulness in her life, Gertrude decides to join her uncle Frank Lascelles (Mark Lewis Jones), who occupies a high diplomatic position in Tehran. Cousin Florence (Holly Earl) is her only companion. There the young lady not only encounters the Near East but also falls in love with an embassy employee, Henry Cadogan (James Franco). Henry introduces Gertrude to the orient and shows her all its glory and secrets. Gertrude finds the cousin Florence is besotted with Henry for over a yr, and has written him 202 letters that were never posted. Florence is afraid to admit her love to Henry. Gertrude and Henry continue to spend time with each other and finally admits their feelings for one another, and kiss each other. Henry teaches Farsi to Gertrude. Henry proposes to Gertude. However, their romance does not last long as her parents consider the young man a poor matrimonial choice for their daughter and forbid the marriage. Devastated, Henry dies by suicide, unable to renounce his true love.For the remainder of her life Gertrude Bell completely devotes herself to exploring and writing about the Near East. In 1906 Gertrude reaches Amman, Jordan. There she meets Charles Doughty-Wylie (Damian Lewis) and Mark Sykes (Nick Waring). Mark warns Gertrude against venturing out into the desert and trying to make contact with the Bedouins. He feels that this will anger the Turkish and complicate the inheritance of their empire by the British. Gertrude ignores Mark and Fattouh (Jay Abdo) becomes her guide in the desert. Gertrude goes far and wide and embeds herself ever deeper into the desert. She visits the British excavation site at Petra. There she meets R. Campbell Thompson (Michael Jenn) and his assistant T. E. Lawrence (Robert Pattinson). Gertrude knows that the Ottoman empire is on the verge of collapse. She predicts that an Arabic spiritual nation will emerge from the chaos. Gertrude and Lawrence become friends.From there Gertrude reaches Damascus. She meets the consul Charles once more. She announces her plans to travel to Jabal-Al-Druze. No one has ever traveled there in decades and the tribes of fiercely protective of their secrecy. Druze are likely to consider Gertrude a spy for the Turkish or the British. Druze are the only tribe to have ever defeated the Ottomans. Upon entering their lands, Gertrude is captured and demands to be taken to their Sheikh (Assaad Bouab). Gertrude and the Sheikh connect over their love for poetry. Sheikh befriends Gertrude and she returns to Damascus 3 weeks later. Next Gertrude decides to go to Hayri, which is a forbidden zone in the middle of the Arabian desert. She wants to meet the Emir Rashid (Anas Chrifi), the future leader of Arabia. Mark wants Gertrude to spy for the British empire, but Gertrude refuses. Richard indicates that he has feelings for Gertrude, but she declines. In 1915, Gertrude leaves for the Hayri. Gertrude and Richard continue to correspond via letters. Gertrude cannot get Richard out of her head. Gertrude meets many tribe leaders on the way who tells her that Ibn Rashid and Ibn Saud are at war in Hayri.Gertrude finally reaches Hayri. She meets Ibrahim (Fehd Benchemsi), uncle to the Emir, who keeps her in captivity till the Emir returns. Fatima is the Emir's aunt wants to keep Gertrude in the Harem of Emir. Emir returns from war and Gertrude finds him to be very young. Gertrude tells him she is married to the British consul and part of his Harem, and marrying the Emir would cause problems for his country. After 3 weeks of captivity, Gertrude is allowed to leave with her men. Gertrude concludes that the house of Rashid is moving to its demise and tells Richard that Ibn Saud will be the ruler of the new kingdom of the desert. Gertrude is back in Damascus and hooks up with Richard. He promises to divorce his wife Judith (Sophie Linfield).Thus Gertrude reaches the British Arab Bureau in Cairo in 1915. Her knowledge of the tribal leaders is used by the British to establish the Kingdoms of Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Gertrude delineated the borders herself. Based on her recommendation Ibn Saud took over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Richard dies at Gallipoli, where 30,000 Australian troops die in a single day of fighting. She died in 1926 and was buried in Baghdad. The Bedouin tribes still remember her as the single foreigner who understood them best.