Tony Mounset is a young man born into an aristocratic family. He buys a house in the centre of London, employing a manservant, Hugo Barrett, to tend to him. Tony's sister Susan sees that Tony seems to rely on Barrett to a surprising degree and tries to get him to depend on his servant less. Barrett persuades Tony to employ Vera, who Barrett insists is his sister, to act as maid, when he is actually planning for her to seduce Tony. Tony discovers the pair of them in bed together and fires them both but Barrett persuades him to re-employ him. Now alone, the balance of power starts to shift, Barrett psychologically twisting and manipulating his employer. Susan is worried about Tony and goes to see him, but is not prepared for what she finds.... Although taken from a novel by Robin Maughm, the screenplay by Harold Pinter features many of the traits of his own drama, with the balance of power shifting in a relationship and the antagonism between people being subsumed until one has the upper hand over another. After years of light comedy roles such as the Doctor series Dirk Bogarde was starting to prove that he was an actor of genuine power and range. James Fox has the harder role, that of a well-born young man who is eventually taken over (corrupted?) by the manipulative Barrett, and plays it very well. A deep and coruscating drama, and one not easily forgotten.