Mother Iris Greenwood (Brenda Fricker) rules the house with an iron hand and has such power over her daughters that they see themselves as becoming old, unmarried maids. Jodie (Jane Horrocks) has feelings for the local doctor, a man much older than her, for which her mother strongly disapproves. Beth (Imelda Staunton) finds a relationship with a male stripper in Bristol, but sees nothing in the future with Mother around. While both girls would like to be rid of Mother, nothing happens until Jodie sees images of H.R. Armstrong (Edward Woodward), the man who put the town on the map by dispatching his un-loving wife.