This study of human relationships begins with civil servant Henry Sitchell being recalled from India to post-war Wales for the funeral of his wife. Here he confronts his 12-year-old son Clive for the first time in five years, and a process of painful readjustment begins. Henry, a man out of his time, epitomises the breed which flourished under the British Raj. Clive is a sensitive, lonely boy who lives in a world apart. Their troubled relationship reaches a dramatic climax which forces both to confront their pain and grief.

In Northolt, North London, Mrs Pamela Early and her two daughters - Suzanne and Kim - are desperate to be rehoused by the council. For months their house has been made practically uninhabitable by strange noise, awful smells, breaking crockery and puddles forming out of nowhere. Is Mrs Early an hysterical attention-seeker? Or is she really at the centre of inexplicable events? Dr Pascoe, eminent parapsychologist, decides to harness the resources of the BBC and investigate.