 18-year-old Louise is stuck in a run-down girls  boarding school in the heart of the English countryside. Her only consolation, during the long cold nights, is Matthew, the American art teacher and second husband of the headmistress, Veronica Van Huet. Trouble is, half term is looming and Louise cannot bear the thought of being away from her lover for a whole week. So she persuades Veronica to let her remain at school, ostensibly to do extra study for her exams. The holiday begins and the vast Victorian building is a spooky shell without the other pupils. Louise and Matthew grab the first opportunity to be together, but in their haste expose in every way their intimate relationship. Veronica, despite her considerable hurt and anger, does not expel Louise from the school, as she is acutely aware that her husband is the one truly responsible. She is also keen not to have a row with Matthew as she needs him now more than ever. In a conspiracy with the school s doctor, Veronica and Matthew are planning a major art fraud in a desperate attempt to raise money to save the school. But marital harmony is short-lived when Veronica discovers something far more painful about her husband s love for Louise...