It is a memoir about the lives of a family that lived on a British estate after World War I. The strong-willed mother was in charge of her daughter, her inventor husband, their ten-year-old son, and his older sister. Through the family, there are a lot of men who want to impress the young woman, including an aviator. As soon as the older woman's son shows up at the estate with his French girlfriend, things start to go awry. In a split second, the young boy becomes interested in her sexual allure, and his father is shocked by his own non-Victorian feelings.