Dave Adams, a widower, leaves Birmingham with his mother and son to start a new job, but the 'golden opportunity' described in Shropshire is far from the truth. The country estate is semi-derelict, Jenkins the butler is snooty, and Lord Lawrence Whytfield is vague. Peter, Dave's son, thinks the place is a dump, but Dot, Dave's mother looks on the bright side, and soon makes their broken-down cottage homely. When the local council impose a compulsory purchase order on the estate, the future looks bleak for them all. Has Gwyn Harrington, a newly-qualified solicitor, the experience to overturn this order? Dave and his family find out more than anyone bargained for in their quest to save Whytfield Hall.