In the 1930s, Stevens is butler to a British politician who admires Nazi Germany and is working to promote the government's policy of appeasement and non-intervention. Sally Kenton is the...

In the 1930s, Stevens is butler to a British politician who admires Nazi Germany and is working to promote the government's policy of appeasement and non-intervention. Sally Kenton is the housekeeper in the same household and is less willing to follow the pro-German line, which includes the sacking of housemaids for being Jewish. She is attracted to Stevens, but the butler fails to respond to her advances - only to realize too late that he has let the woman he loves slip through his fingers. Stevens also has to come to terms with the results of his employer's disastrous political misjudgements.