An extended family gathers in late August to celebrate the seventy-fifth birthday of its formidable matriarch, Leonora. She is the daughter of the famous Edwardian painter, Ethan Walsh, whose paintings are kept at the family home, Willow Court in Wiltshire. At Leonora's house party will be her two daughters, Gwen and Rilla whom she raised alone after she was widowed in her late twenties; Rilla's stepdaughter, Beth; and Gwen's husband and three children with their spouses and lovers. One outsider joins the group: Sean Everard, a television director who is making a documentary about the life and work of Ethan Walsh.

All families have their dark side and Leonora's is no exception. By the time the guests have left and the marquee is dismantled and everyone goes their separate ways, two shocking past events have come to light, to rock complacency and change forever the lives of Leonora and her daughters.