American widow Larita (Jessica Biel) meets John (Ben Barnes), a wealthy young Englishman, in France and impulsively marries him. But when they visit his family at their country estate, Larita receives a chilly reception from her virulent new mother-in-law (Kristin Scott Thomas). As she waits impatiently to move on with life in London, Larita forms a subtle bond with John's father (Colin Firth) while John falls further under his mother's spell.