White Mischief

During the Second World War, Kenya Colony's Happy Valley becomes a playground for aristocrats' indulgent lifestyles. The era's secrecy and excess provide the backdrop for scandal and tragedy. The social scene sets the stage for the dangerous entanglements that follow.

On 24 January 1941, Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll, is found dead in his car in a secluded area. The shocking death upends the Happy Valley set and tarnishes his reputation for a string of affairs. Delves Broughton is soon charged with the murder, though the case remains unsettled.

Diana Delves Broughton is married to Sir John Henry Delves Broughton, with a prenup allowing either spouse to pursue other loves. She begins an intense affair with Erroll, despite concerns about financial security and social ruin. Erroll wants Diana to marry him, but she hesitates because he has no funds and her husband is in debt.

At the Nairobi Club, Delves Broughton publicly toasts the couple's affair and hints at bringing Diana home at a set time. The spectacle publicly exposes the strain in Diana's marriage and the dangerous stakes of her liaison. Erroll presses for a formal commitment, ratcheting up the tension.

After dropping off Diana, Erroll is shot dead in his car near Delves Broughton's home. The killing triggers a high-profile investigation and Delves Broughton is charged, though direct witnesses are lacking. The case relies on circumstantial evidence and inferred motive.

Diana is distraught by Erroll's death, while Alice de Janzé's grief manifests in a shocking mortuary scene as she masturbates beside the corpse. The emotional fallout among the lovers underscores the danger and decadence of the Happy Valley circle. Public fascination with the scandal intensifies.

Gilbert Colvile, a plantation owner, quietly offers Diana support and ultimately proposes marriage. He represents a sober, stable option amid the scandal and financial uncertainty surrounding Erroll's death. Diana faces a choice between passion and security.

Delves Broughton stands trial with no eyewitness testimony and heavily circumstantial evidence. He is portrayed as having motive and means, yet the court delivers a verdict of innocence. The scandal in Happy Valley effectively ends with his acquittal.

Following the affair and its fallout, Alice de Janzé ultimately takes her own life. The tragedy compounds the social ruin surrounding Erroll's death. The suicide deepens the sense of irreversible damage within the circle.

Diana discovers further evidence that implicates her husband in Erroll's death. The newfound information regenerates suspicion and intensifies the sense that the truth remains hidden within the marriage. Her resolve to confront Delves Broughton hardens.

In a violent confrontation, Delves Broughton, having killed their dog and menaced Diana with a shotgun, shoots himself in front of her. The murder mystery collapses with his death, leaving Diana in a devastated, unsettled state. The immediate danger fades, but the emotional wreckage remains.

The film ends with a bloodstained Diana fleeing into a landscape where the remaining Happy Valley set continues to party around de Janzé's grave. The circle's decadence persists even as the bodies and reputations lie scattered. The final image emphasizes the cost of illicit desire and social spectacle.