In this film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, follows The Hillcrests, a wealthy family who have held their country estate for many generations. They cherish the traditions of the landed gentry and regard their neighbors, the Hornblowers, as new money; trades people who have fought their way up from the lowest section of society. The Hillcrests believe themselves the moral leaders of the community, and upon learning that the Hornblowers seek to dispossess the Jackman family after thirty years of tenure, they enter a battle over land ownership in the Jackman's defense.