Film designer Ned Nugent is at a crossroads. Disillusioned with Hollywood he returns to England, to what he thinks is real life and a measure of sanity. But no sooner has he set foot in King's Road than he is picked up by a precocious and utterly delightful nymphet Lavender, who whisks him home to meet her family. Just how real is reality, Ned wonders, as he is introduced to the exotic Macnamara clan: to Lavender's mother, Rose, who has made seduction her life's work; to the dashing Aunt Tottie and her outrageous hats; and to Beth, who smells intriguingly of new mown hay and who soon represents everything about England Ned holds hear. But Ned has yet to discover that the Macnamaras are haunted by their past - and Beth is haunted by a panther ...