Two Oscar nominees are joining forces for Claire McCarthy’s period drama “The Personal History Of Rachel Dupree.” Viola Davis and Quvenzhané Wallis have signed on, with Davis playing the lead. McCarthy co-wrote the script and will direct.

The film is an adaptation of Ann Weisgarber’s 2011 novel of the same name and, as Hollywood’s Black Renaissance reports, “takes place in the early 1900s South Dakota badlands where Rachel Dupree finds herself playing a game of cat-and-mouse with her ambitious husband Isaac on their isolated, drought-stricken ranch. Taunted by secrets and lies that scatter her marriage to a man she loves with such passion but somehow barely knows, Rachel must take matters into her own hands if her family is to survive, and fight for values that are worth more than land and ambition.”

“At its heart, it fully explores how you can choose a dream but you can’t choose the sacrifice,” Davis said. “Rachel’s gut wrenching journey and ultimate heroic decision was, for me, an actress’ dream. As a woman, it is my chance to play a realistic heroine… one that is admirable, familiar, inspiring and rare. Rachel serves as the perfect voice to tell this part of American History seldom told.”

Davis was the first black woman to win the Emmy award for Best Actress in a Drama for her role on Shonda Rhimes’ “How to Get Away with Murder.” She most recently appeared in “Suicide Squad,” and will star in the film version of “Fences” in the same role for which she won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

Wallis was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in 2012’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and has a voice role in the upcoming animated film “Trolls.”

McCarthy will also be directing “Ophelia,” a retelling of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” from the perspective of the female character, which will star Daisy Ridley as Ophelia and Naomi Watts as Queen Gertrude.