England in the early 1900s. Christina is sent to live with her domineering, crippled Uncle Russell and her cousins Mark and William at Flambards, a rambling, decaying mansion. Life at Flambards is a conflict of cultures, with Mark and his father clinging to a traditionalist obsession for horses, whilst William dreams of a career in the new technology of aviation. When Christina arrives, her presence generates a changing pattern of events and relationships....