Diana Fairfax and Colin Jeavons star in this BBC adaptation of the classic novel by Charles Dickens. When young Richard Carstone (Jeavons) and his cousin Ada (Elizabeth Shepherd) are caught up in the interminable legal case of Jarndyce versus Jarndyce, they find themselves drawn into a world where their lives will be affected by the attentions of their friend Esther (Fairfax), their guardian Mr John Jarndyce (Andrew Cruickshank), and the predatory attentions of various unscrupulous lawyers, boarding house owners, and debt collectors. As the story examines the injustices of the 19th century legal system, the two young cousins will each meet with very different ends as the case approaches its long-awaited conclusion.