Rural England, late 1970s into the early 1980s. The grand but fading Chatterley estate, once a symbol of aristocratic pride, now stands as a decaying relic in a country caught between the whims of Clifford the lord of the Estate and his wife Constance. A war injury renders family life impossible for the Chatterleys but Constance with the help of her Sister Hilda and the groundskeeper Olive reinvent themselves. This has far reaching consequences for all the people at Chatterley.