A painter sells every picture at his first one-man exhibition and then he and his daughter Lisa back a winning horse with the proceeds, making it possible to buy a romantic and partly ruined house on the Devon and Cornwall border Together with his family and several friends, he leaves London for Haphazard House, where mysterious events change all their lives in ways which are both disturbing and delightful Slowly everyone comes to terms with his new existence, growing either older, younger or more talented to realise his full potential