In the fictitious Dorset village of Ewedown, Tamara Drewe Gemma Arterton, a young and beautiful journalist, returns home after living in London with the intention of selling her deceased mother's house, where she grew up. Locals are amazed at the improvement in her appearance after she had rhinoplasty while away. Andy still sees her as the girl she once was, and his quiet longing threads through the town as Tamara settles back into the rhythm of village life.
Soon, she begins a relationship with Ben, Luke Evans, a rock-band-drummer she meets at a village music festival, adding a spark to the local scene and stirring old feelings. The affair introduces friction and curiosity among the villagers, even as Tamara navigates her own emotions and the practical task of reassembling a life she left behind.
Across the valley lies a neighbor’s home that doubles as an authors’ retreat. The owner, Nicholas, Dominic Cooper, is a prolific crime novelist and a serial philanderer, while his wife Beth provides food, lodging, and encouragement for patrons who spend quiet hours there. After Beth discovers an affair with Tamara—an affair Nicholas ends—he then embarks on a new affair with Tamara, who, by that time, has begun to pull away from Ben. Andy is enlisted by Tamara to work on the house so she can sell it, and he becomes aware of the tangled relationships, as do two local teenaged schoolgirls, Jody and Casey, who stir up trouble driven by jealousy of Tamara’s relationship with Ben.
Jody becomes infatuated with Ben and distraught that she won’t see him in the village again, since he left Ewedown after Tamara and Ben’s split. She manipulates him into returning, and her deceit slowly unravels. Meanwhile, Nicholas and Tamara’s affair is revealed, casting a shadow over the retreat. In a strange twist of fate, Nicholas is accidentally killed by stampeding cows, a moment that reverberates through the tight-knit community. Beth’s friend Glen, a Thomas Hardy scholar who has harbored feelings for her for months, reveals his love for Beth, even as he grapples with guilt over Nicholas’s demise following a tense confrontation.
Beth manages to persuade Glen to stay at the retreat with her, choosing companionship over isolation. As the dust settles, the enduring bond between Andy and Tamara emerges as the true connection that endures, and Tamara decides to remain in Ewedown, embracing a life that feels more real and grounded than the one she left behind. The village moves forward with new respect for complicated relationships and the quiet, stubborn hope that love can find its own path amid the hedgerows and hills of Ewedown.
