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A sensible civil servant on the verge of resigning from his dreary job is assigned the task of assessing the functionality of a long-abandoned government research facility, only to become enamored with the quirky population of the remote, East Anglia town that houses it, in director Martyn Friend's adaptation of John Hadfield's acclaimed novel. Jasper Pye has never been what one would call an impulsive or exciting man, but upon venturing out to Arcady to fulfill his latest assignment, he soon finds that a change of scenery may be just the thing to turn his boring life around once and for all. Despite his initial assumptions that the population of Arcady would be little more than backwater country bumpkins, the colorful personalities of the friendly townfolk continually sidetrack Jasper from his official duties as wild drinking binges at the local pub, lively traction engine rallies soon begin to take precidence over his work priorities. If he's not careful, Jasper may even find himself experiencing a little moonlight romance with the naughty daughters of the town aristocrat.