In 1901, Ned (Joe Prospero), a middle-class schoolboy whose parents are working abroad, spends his summer in Bedfordshire with his great-uncle Silas (Albert Finney). Though 60 years old, Silas relishes life--he's a womanizer, drinker, and a poacher. At the prompting of his long-suffering housekeeper, Mrs. Betts (Sue Johnston), he takes on the occasional odd job.