Beyond The Limit is the true story of the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics. Despite the dictates of the Tsar's oppressive government, teenaged Sofya desires education above all else. Her rebellious pursuit takes her on a journey far beyond the challenges of academia in a man's world. She becomes entangled in a fictitious marriage, a tempestuous affair, and a brutal civil war before her victorious return home.

The fates and her ambitions entangle young Sofya with the persons who will become the literary giant Dostoevsky, the mathematical giant Weierstrass and the political rebells of the 1871 Paris commune.