[1] The film was directed by Nancy Meckler and written by Wendy Kesselman, based on her own play, My Sister in This House.

In 1933 France, Christine (Richardson) is the maid of the well-to-do middle-aged widow Madame Danzard (Julie Walters) and her teenage daughter Isabelle (Sophie Thursfield).

Lea was always their mother's favorite and after Christine convinces her to no longer give her all their earnings, there is a falling out and they cut ties with her.

Short on money and time, the sisters resign themselves to their fate; when the Danzards return from a shopping trip, Christine tries to explain what happened.

The Papin case was also the subject of The Maids, a play by Jean Genet written in 1949 that was adapted by Christopher Miles into a 1974 film of the same name.