Anne Hathaway is attached to star in and produce The Lifeboat, an adaptation of a book by Charlotte Rogan, whose rights have just been jointly acquired by Working Title and Focus Features, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The story centers on Grace Winter, who is standing trial for murder in 1914. The young woman is both a newlywed and a widow, and she recounts how she survived the sinking of the transatlantic ship Empress with the help of her new husband only to end up in a lifeboat. The quandary, however, is that there are too many people in the boat and the survivors soon start talking about getting rid of certain people.

William Broyles Jr., whose credits range from Apollo 13 to Castaway to Flags of Our Fathers, is writing the script.

Hathaway will produce with Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Liza Chasin of Working Title, along with Film 360's Suzan Bymel and Ben Forkner. Broyles will exec produce. Final producing credits are stlll being determined.

Jeb Brody, Focus' president of production, spearheaded the acquisition on the studio's side. No director is currently attached.

Hathaway won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her work in Les Miserables, which Working Title produced, and is reuniting with Christopher Nolan, her Dark Knight Rises director, for his sci-fi adventure movie Interstellar. Other credits include an Oscar-nominated turn in Rachel Getting Married, Brokeback Mountain and The Devil Wears Prada.