Harnessing Peacocks

Harnessing Peacocks cover.

TV Movie (1993)
Also known as: Mary Wesley's Harnessing Peacocks

Starring:
Serena Scott Thomas (Hebe Rutter)
Peter Davison (Jim Huxtable)
John Mills (Bernard Quigley)
Nicholas Le Prevost (Mungo Duff)

The beautiful Hebe Rutter (Serena Scott Thomas) has been cast out by her family after a teenage pregnancy to a masked stranger during a fiesta in Italy. She makes ends meet and pays for her son's school fees by cooking for old ladies and sleeping with a small syndicate of adoring men (the "peacocks" of the title, from Greek mythology). The story revolves around Hebe, her "clients", and their families, and set against a backdrop of village life in southwest England. There is a sub-theme of the antiques trade which draws some of the characters together, and ultimately resolves the mystery of Hebe's masked lover.