A story of blind devotion and repressed love between a fanatically proper butler and a high-spirited, strong-minded young housekeeper employed by a British lord who is unwittingly a Nazi dupe

Margaret and Helen Schlegel are sisters from a well-educated European family. A series of events brings them into a relationship with the very English Wilcox family. Both families also come into contact with Leonard Bast and his wife, a couple near the lowest tier of the rigid class system. Leonard's desire for cultural and intellectual status attracts the attention of Helen. Margaret must reconcile her independent spirit with her desire for companionship...