Harrington Brande (Michael Hordern), a British diplomat who recently broke up with his wife, is stationed in a small coastal town in Spain with his son, Nicholas (Jon Whiteley). Harrington is unreasonably possessive of Nicholas, and becomes jealous when he begins to form a close friendship with Jose (Dirk Bogarde), their gentle gardener. When Harrington decides to frame Jose for a crime to end their relationship, Nicholas becomes enraged and runs away from home.