In the West Country village of Summerstoke, the family at Marsh Farm are too preoccupied with living their lives to notice the farm sliding into ruin. Charlie Tucker, dreaming of victory in a motocross race and flirting with the local barmaid, is unaware of the danger the farm is in; while little sister Alison, busy with her A levels, is determined to dispense with her virginity before the end of the summer. Their brother Stephen is hopelessly in love with the star of the local Am-Dram society, while mother Jenny dreams of escaping into the arms of the local vet. Fed up with watching her family squander their birthright, septuagenarian grandmother Elsie—the only Tucker with a lover—issues an ultimatum: either her grandsons find brides by the end of the year, or they lose their share of the farm. And that's only half the problem. Up on the hill in Summerstoke House, the land-grabbing, unscrupulous, Hugh and Veronica (call-me-Vee) Lester watch the demise of Marsh Farm with undisguised pleasure. If they can get the Tuckers turfed off the land, their dreams of owning a bigger stud farm will become a reality; and if they can help hasten the demise of Marsh Farm with a few schemes of their own. And at Summerstoke Manor, in the heart of the village, live the three elderly Miss Merfields and their ancient nanny with nothing better to do than pull strings and watch.