In this period drama, British teenager Leo Colston (Dominic Guard) spends a summer in the countryside, where he develops a crush on the beautiful young aristocrat Marian (Julie Christie). Eager to impress her, Leo becomes the go-between for Marian, delivering secret romantic letters to Ted Burgess (Alan Bates), a handsome neighboring farmer. However, when Marian becomes engaged to Hugh Trimingham (Edward Fox), a local viscount, all their lives are altered.