When Robert Markham and his wife Grace see the advertisement for The Old Manor House in the idyllic village of Cypress Grove, buying the hotel seems a perfect way for them to achieve their dream of living in the Cotswolds. Their first year as proprietors is as interesting as their guests. There's the American widow Mrs Macready and her daughter Ellis, newly retired Constance Boswell...and the mysterious Anthony Sheridan, who claims to be using the hotel as a base for his house-hunting, but is not entirely what he seems.