The plot concerns Maurice Russell, an elderly actor who finds himself increasingly attracted to his friend Ian's grand-niece Jessie, while simultaneously finding himself in deteriorating health due to prostate cancer. Maurice's friend describes the grand-niece as a troublemaker and a nuisance, but Maurice discovers that Jessie warms up to him when he starts interacting with her. He takes her to the National Gallery, London in London to view his favourite painting, the ''Rokeby Venus'', by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez.