Sir Giles and Lady Maud Lynchwood are not the most happily married of aristocrats. She wants an heir but he cheats on her with incompetent dominatrix Mrs Forthby. The pair agree to divorce but, to stop Maud hanging onto her ancestral home Handyman Hall Giles approaches the Ministry of Transport, suggesting the house be demolished to make way for a motorway. At a public meeting Lady Maud, supported by Blott, her gardener, whips up local support against the motorway, leading to a riot with the destruction of buildings and her ultimate arrest.