It's the start of the Sixties in a smart English suburb. Blonde, perfect Patsy is the ideal helpmate - attractive, ambitious, and giving form to her husband's life. Alan, too, has film-star good looks but it's his work that defines him. He's a scientist on the verge of a big breakthrough. His corporation is in the race to find the new fibre - for the suit you can wear, wash, drip dry and wear again - and Alan is jetted over to head office in Delaware. But for Patsy, back at home with their three small children, this wasn't part of the grand plan. And when the Corporation sends an attractive young man to help with the packing and odd jobs, the inevitable happens, and now nothing will ever be quite the same again.