Filmed on location in the North of England, A Dinner of Herbs is a film based on Catherine Cookson's novel about hardship, betrayal and family life in a 19th century working class town. Roddy and Hal have been friends since childhood, but their closeness is strengthened by the murder of their fathers by the same man. Mary Ellen is also in their circle of friends, but when she is rejected by Roddy after an affair that leaves her pregnant, she turns to Hal for security. Their lives spiral into an explosive and dramatic conclusion.