Flora talks over her plan to live off the largess of relatives with her bra-collecting friend Mary Smiling. She settles on an offer from the Starkadders, a Sussex farming family, who sound only too appalling to Mary. After a send-off from her charming cousin Charles, Flora arrives at Cold Comfort Farm and finds it beyond appalling. But there's no turning back - she'd have to face Mary's "look" - so she begins to search for ways she might tidy things up. First she counsels Meriam, the over-ripe young hired girl, and then she begins to guide Amos towards his true calling, which will require a Ford van.