Lindsay Duncan leads an all-star cast in this acclaimed Channel Four adaptation of Joanna Trollope's bestselling novel about passion, betrayal, escape and love.

Anna Bouverie (Duncan) has been a clergyman's wife for 20 years, supporting him in his work, scrimping and saving to raise their family, and serving God and the parish in a variety of ways. Her devotion to duty has worn her down and she can barely recognise herself.

When her husband (Ronald Pickup) fails to gain a promotion to archdeacon, his bitterness impacts heavily on the family. Anna realises that their meagre life will never change and after their youngest is cruelly bullied at school, she reaches breaking point. In order to move her daughter to the fee-paying Catholic school, she takes a lowly job in the local supermarket.

As her sense of worth grows, she has to face the caustic disapproval of the parish and the icy fury of her husband. She also attracts the passionate interest of more than one man.

Torn between her newfound independence and family responsibility, Anna faces a crisis in faith in her marriage and what it means to be the rector's wife.