In a light, documentary-style prologue, the film juxtaposes the pressures of current wartime England with memories of 1939 life and the etiquette of the Victorian era, setting a tone of gentle, observant irony that frames the comedy to come.
George, the 10th Duke of Bristol, and his friend Richard Halton are aristocrats in name and habit, but money has run dry after a spree of social indulgence and flirtations. They attend a party in George’s London home, which has recently been let to a glamorous American guest, Helen Hale, whose presence unsettles the old order and heightens the tension among the guests. At the gathering, George is brusque with Maria Wislack, a wealthy widow whom he knows from the upper circles, while [Richard Halton] quietly harbors affection for her but keeps his feelings hidden because of his dire finances. George remains oblivious to the fact that Helen Hale is secretly fond of him, and he treats marriage as a distant nuisance rather than a goal.
Maria, tired of waiting for Richard to declare himself, proposes a bold experiment: a month together as man and wife at a Scottish residence, “on approval,” to see whether they are compatible. Against everyone’s better judgment, George slips into the plan and invites himself along, much to the discomfort of the two couples. The arrival is further complicated when Mrs. McCosh, Maria’s exacting housekeeper, recoils at the prospect of an unplanned menagerie of guests and abruptly withdraws, taking with her all the household servants. Left to manage with minimal help, the two couples must improvise and navigate a situation neither anticipated.
As the weeks pass, Richard does his best to please Maria, but Helen privately counsels him, even urging him to tell Maria to “go to hell” if needed, exposing the fragile balance of pride and affection that governs their relationships. George, meanwhile, meanders through the month, doing little to contribute, until a revelation slowly crystallizes: Maria reveals that she would marry Richard and even provide him with an annual allowance of £5,000, but the moment reveals something deeper about her expectations and Richard’s own sense of self-worth. When he realizes that her behavior was not a mere test but a reflection of her ordinary pattern, he chooses to reject the match. Simultaneously, George comes to see that his affections lie with Helen, and he asks her to marry him; she would have accepted earlier, but gains a clearer sense of compatibility after spending time with both men. She counsels him to pursue Maria, the more stable match, while she begins to feel a genuine attraction to Richard.
The trio of choices culminates in a quiet, strategic reconciliation: Helen and Richard depart for a future together, leaving Maria and George to salvage something of their pride and their social standing. Helen and Richard sail away in the lone boat, while Richard leaves a single, enigmatic note: Ho! The two set off into the night, unsettled yet hopeful, and the film closes with a wry, forward-looking sense of what marriage and social duties mean.
In a later, reflective moment, a family album frames the film’s final vision: the Narrator’s voice is present as the camera lingers on a photo, and Helen Hale corrects him when he addresses her as Lady Bristol. The future hinted at in the album shows Richard Halton married and content with Maria Wislack seemingly settled in the same home where their story began, while George has found happiness with Maria Wislack. The film ends on a note of wry romantic optimism, with the realization that life among the upper crust is a balancing act of desire, pride, and solid, if unconventional, companionship.
