Up and coming star Lily James (Cinderella) has signed on for the spy thriller The Kaiser’s Last Kiss. James will star opposite Oscar-winner Christopher Plummer (Beginners). Noted theater director David Leveaux, a five-time Tony-nominee, will make his feature film debut at the helm.

The story, based on the novel by Alan Judd, imagines Kaiser Wilhelm’s (Plummer) time in exile in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands of 1940. Winston Churchill and the Dutch Resistance arrange to covertly insert a spy into the Kaiser’s home. A love affair brews between a young Jewish Dutch woman (James) and a German officer, putting both the lovers and the mission in peril.

Simon Burke penned the script from Ladd’s book. Says one of the film’s producers, Judy Tossell:

In David Leveaux, our film has found the perfect director to wring every last ounce of drama from this very special script. Audiences will rarely have seen a character quite like the Kaiser, brought to life by one of cinema’s great treasures Christopher Plummer — combined with the sensational Lily James. We look forward to taking this passionate spy thriller to Cannes and beyond.