It is 1957 and the six children in the Bell family are struggling to cope after their mother's death. Because their father has retreated into his books and his teaching, the older children try to run the family. The eldest, Sebastian, has begun the game of Knights of the Round Table, which at first they all find a comforting escape. But the safety of the game is threatened when Roz, the second eldest, begins to be more interested in junior high school than pretending.