When dire financial straits force her brother Harry to sell the increasingly dilapidated family seat, Queen’s Hoo, Anthea Brooke, the beautiful daughter of the late Lord Colnbrooke, puts on a brave face. And she is delighted that Harry, under an assumed name, will take up the position of estate manager to the new owner and oversee the restoration of the ancient house while Harry, Anthea and their aged Nanny move to the much more compact Dower House.