The Hearty Toadstool, classic English bed and breakfast, has gone downhill in recent years, but elderly proprietor Lavinia Gerania keeps the place going. Complaints include the mould, the isolated location, and the fact that Ms Gerania was found dead on the sofa in the middle of a terrible snowstorm, with a telegram warning about one of her guests. Now supplies are dwindling, and the residents of the Hearty Toadstool must engage in a desperate fight for survival.