When Richard Marlow buys a taxidermy hare from an old antiques shop, he inadvertently draws the attentions of a sinister Russian warlock - on the very weekend his girlfriend's mother is coming to stay.

Summer 1914. In order to dedicate themselves to a life of study, the King and his friends take an oath to avoid the company of women for three years. No sooner have they made their idealistic pledge than the Princess of France and her ladies-in-waiting arrive, presenting the men with a severe test of their high-minded resolve.