On her husband's demise, attractive Bridget suddenly finds she can't meet the financial demand of her Sussex country house in Brighton without his income. Her solution: take in lodgers. Two other "belles" answer her offer. Annie, also a widow, is a dim but friendly, likable farmer's daughter from a small village; Frances is a sardonic, sarcastic teacher whose husband Gilbert left her for a younger woman, taking the house. Later, Frances' tactless, overprotective mother Josephine moves in as well, to hover over and generally annoy her daughter. The women bond and Bridget shows her seductive side and she searches for a new mate.

A passionately committed young dancer is forced to re-examine his career and life when faced with death, finding hope through an older man who becomes his lover, mentor and companion.

Mother rules the house with an iron hand and has such power over her daughters that they see themselves as becoming old unmarried, maids. Jodie has feelings for the local doctor, a man much older than her, for which her mother strongly disapproves. Beth finds a relationship with a male stripper in Bristol, but sees nothing in the future with Mother around. While both girls would like to be rid of Mother, nothing happens until Jodie sees images of H. R. Armstrong, the man who put the town on the map by dispatching his un-loving wife