The historic Cotswold village of Broadway is much admired for its tranquillity and beauty, but behind the picturesque façade lurks a bitter dispute between neighbours living in the same street. Cafe owner Robert Brown took advantage of his long-standing friendship with the McSweeneys and the Maymons to get them to invest in a business proposition to expand his catering empire. Such was their trust that they lent him £120,000 between them, each family unaware that they were not the sole investor. When the business began to fail, they discovered Brown's duplicity and that the chances of getting any money back were remote.