Colonel Mortimer's son Gregory, his pride and joy, returns to the ancestral Cornish estate by the sea for the summer after loosing that year's only Horse Guards officer promotion to his neighbor-buddy Eric. By ancestral tradition, that means another delay too for his long-planned marriage with neighbor's daughter Rebecca, who already doubts if the are actually in love. Mortimer's new housekeeper Elisabeth proves irresistible for father (platonically) and son, but is held back by a family secret concerning her late mother Catherine. Eric also has a confession to make.