Summer's Lease

A family's holiday in Tuscany leads in intrigue and mystery in this BBC classic

1989 7.3

Fortysomething wife and mother Molly Pargeter leads a stable but dull life in 1980s West London. She feels overweight and there is no passion in her relationship with her husband Hugh, who is secretly seeing another woman. For most of her life, Molly has found escape in detective novels and art books, especially on 15th-century Italian fresco painter Piero Della Francesca. Suddenly, in the small ads, she spots the details of a Tuscany villa to let, and after a viewing, she takes it for holiday.

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1
Villa to Let
1989-11-01
Housewife Molly Pargeter arranges for her family to travel to a Tuscany summer rental, where she meets a variety of eccentric locals but is most fascinated by Chrissie and Buck Kettering, who own the villa.
2
Where the Water Goes
1989-11-08
La Felicita is hit by a water shortage, forcing the Pargeters to shack up with the Ketterings.
3
A Battlefield
1989-11-15
Molly pieces together the clues connecting Buck, Nancy and the local waterboard but her snooping draws threats from the displeased ex-pats. Meanwhile, Haverford tests his chances with his forgetful ex-flame.
4
The Urbino Trail
1989-11-22
As holiday's end draws nearer, Molly realises that the answer to her mystery is at the end of the Piero Della Francesca Trail. As she sets off on her trip of discovery, Haverford's night of passion ends in farce.