- Following the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.
- Cynthia lives in London with her sullen street-sweeper daughter. Her brother has been successful with his photographer's business and now lives nearby in a more upmarket house. But Cynthia hasn't even been invited round there after a year. So, all round, she feels rather lonely and isolated. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Hortense, adopted at birth but now grown up, starts to try and trace her mother.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
- Following the passing of her adoptive mother, London based optometrist Hortense Cumberbatch believes it is a good time to find out the identity of her birth mother, something that is now the right of adopted adult children in Britain which was not the case when she was given up for adoption in 1968. Her biological mother's name is Cynthia Purley, the most shocking news among the adoption papers for Hortense being that Cynthia is white, while Hortense is black. Despite the questions Hortense has for Cynthia, she isn't sure what to do with any of the information. If Hortense does proceed with contacting Cynthia, she will find that she is walking into a firestorm of dysfunction that exists between members of the Purley family. Cynthia, an uneducated factory worker who on first thought wouldn't even remember sleeping with a black man, has only two blood relatives: her younger brother Maurice Purley, who owns a successful photography business, and her daughter Roxanne Purley, who works for the council as a street cleaner. Roxanne, on the cusp of her twenty-first birthday, is an angry and unambitious young woman, most of that anger directed at her mother. She treats Maurice like the father she never had - her biological father's identity which Cynthia has never told her - and thus Maurice's wife, Monica Purley, like the mother she wished she had. Maurice and Monica can treat Roxanne like a daughter especially since they have no children of their own. Controlling Monica has made Maurice cut day-to-day ties with Cynthia due to Monica seeing Cynthia as flighty and irresponsible, that view in part because of Cynthia getting pregnant when she was fifteen with who ended up being Hortense. No one has ever told Roxanne that she is Cynthia's second child. That severing of ties means that Maurice and Monica have not invited either Cynthia or Roxanne to the new house they've owned for a year, redecorating it to her exacting standards being Monica's focus in life. The question then becomes what will happen between Hortense and Cynthia not if but when Hortense contacts her which she has decided to do, and how that will affect the interpersonal relationships between all the family members now including Hortense.—Huggo
- Hortense Cumberbatch, a black optometrist in London who was adopted as a child, has chosen to trace her family history after the death of her adoptive mother. Despite being warned by public officials about the troubles she could face by tracking her birth mother down, she continues her investigation and is surprised to learn that her birth mother is white.
The woman in question, Cynthia Purley, works in a cardboard box factory and lives in East London with her other illegitimate daughter Roxanne, a street sweeper; the pair have a tense relationship. Cynthia's younger brother Maurice is a successful photographer who lives in the suburbs with his wife Monica. The couple also experience domestic difficulties due to Monica's often distant temperament. Later scenes reveal that she suffers from severe menstrual cramps. Cynthia and Monica have never liked one another: Monica regards her sister-in-law as self-pitying and overly hysterical, while Cynthia deems Monica greedy and snobbish. For this reason, Maurice rarely sees Cynthia and Roxanne despite not living particularly far from them, but he and Monica both look forward to celebrating their niece's upcoming 21st birthday. When Maurice pays Cynthia a surprise visit, she breaks down in tears, berating her brother for his long absence. Before leaving, Maurice gives her money to pay for repairs on the house and tells her of his and Monica's wish to hold a barbecue for Roxanne's birthday.
Roxanne is revealed to have a boyfriend, Paul, whom Cynthia has never met. This leads to an argument between mother and daughter; Roxanne storms out, leaving Cynthia in tears. Shortly thereafter, Hortense rings Cynthia and starts to enquire about "baby Elizabeth Purley", whom she says was born in 1968. Cynthia realizes that Hortense is the daughter she gave up for adoption as a teenager and hangs up the phone in distress; persevering, Hortense rings Cynthia again and eventually manages to persuade her to meet her. When they come face to face, Cynthia, not expecting Hortense to be black, insists that a mistake has been made with the birth records. Hortense convinces Cynthia to look at some documents pertaining to Hortense's birth. Cynthia remains convinced that Hortense is not her daughter until, suddenly, she retrieves a memory and begins to cry, stating that she is ashamed. Hortense then asks who her father was, to which Cynthia replies, "You don't wanna know that, darling." The pair continue to converse, asking questions about one another's lives.
Soon Hortense and Cynthia have struck up a friendship; Cynthia, who is not in the habit of going out, suddenly finds herself doing so frequently, catching the attention of Roxanne, who is confused by her mother's secrecy. On one of their meetings, Cynthia mentions to Hortense Roxanne's birthday party. She later asks Maurice if she can bring a "mate from work" to the barbecue; when he says yes, she relays this information to Hortense, who, despite her reservations, agrees to attend and pose as Cynthia's colleague.
On the day of the birthday party Monica makes an effort to be welcoming, but nonetheless she and Cynthia are unable to resist making passive-aggressive comments towards one another. During the barbecue Hortense evasively answers the many questions that are put to her by the other guests. The party moves inside due to rain. While Hortense is in the bathroom, Cynthia, who has become increasingly nervous, reveals that she is Hortense's mother. Roxanne dismisses this claim, assuming that she has had too much to drink, but when Monica inadvertently confirms it as true, she is furious and storms out of the house. Maurice attempts to pacify the situation by confronting Roxanne at a nearby bus stop, and he and Paul manage to convince her to hear her mother out. Meanwhile, Cynthia and Monica quarrel. Cynthia says that Monica should try bringing up a child on her own, to which Monica, though visibly upset, says nothing. When Roxanne, Maurice and Paul return, Cynthia explains matters: she fell pregnant at fifteen and was sent away by her father; after the adoption she never expected Hortense to seek her out. Cynthia proceeds to berate Monica, and Maurice, coming to the latter's defense, reveals that she is physically incapable of having children. He loses his temper, exhorting those present to "share [their] pain" instead of harboring resentments. He praises Hortense for having the courage to seek the truth. Cynthia then explains that Roxanne's father was an American medical student vacationing in Benidorm whom she met at a pub. One morning, Cynthia awoke and he had gone. Hortense again enquires as to the identity of her father. Cynthia replies, "Don't break my heart, darling."
After a while things have calmed down and Hortense pays a visit to Cynthia and Roxanne at their home. When Hortense reveals that she always wanted a sister, Roxanne says that she would be happy to introduce Hortense as her half-sister notwithstanding the long explanations that it would entail.
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