Susan (Maggie Smith) is the privately opinionated wife of a vicar, living in a small village near Leeds. Her husband is a popular local figure, well respected and he also seems to collect adoring middle aged and elderly women because of his status as the vicar, all of whom fuss and fawn over him and seem to passive aggressively compete with Susan for his time and affection. Susan is bored with her husband and unhappy with her life, although she is passive in this unhappiness other than her alcoholism. She has run up a debt with the local shop because of her constant buying of sherry, she dislikes the community she lives in and only gives the bare minimum of attention to her own parish dut...