It is a sultry August, and the Davies household has visitors. Ieuan(Anthony Hopkins), who has managed the estate for many years for little reward, has fallen passionately in love with Helen Blaithwaite (Rate Burton), but his passion, as yet, is unrequited. Sian(Rhian Morgan), his niece, is secretly in love with Dr. Lloyd (Gawn Grainger), an idealistic conservationist who is growing increasingly disillusioned with country life. Dr. Lloyd, however, like Ieuan, has designs on the exotic Helen. Both Ieuan and Lloyd seek solace in drink and feelings run high. In a series of tragi-comic episodes, the ordered Victorian calm of the Davies household begins to disintegrate over one pivotal weekend.