The three-part series, written by Andrew Davies and directed by Saul Dibb, is an adaptation of the 2004 novel of the same name by Alan Hollinghurst.

Nick Guest, a recent Oxford graduate from a middle-class family, is invited to stay in the home of his best friend, Toby Fedden, son of Conservative MP Gerald Fedden, while the family, minus their bipolar daughter Cat, are out on holiday in France.

Not long after the rest of the Feddens are gone, Cat has a minor episode, but after Nick helps her, she begs him to not contact her parents and he agrees.

Now fully integrated into the Fedden family, Nick has become involved with another friend from Oxford, Wani, the son of a rich Lebanese businessman, but the relationship had to be kept secret.

Not long after the elections in which Gerald wins another term, his affair and his dealings with corrupt investors are exposed by the press, plunging him into a major financial scandal.

While Nick was saying farewell to their housekeeper, with whom he thought he had a close bond from the four years of living there, she said that she knew he was no good from the moment she first laid eyes on him.

Matt Wells of The Guardian said it was a "creative flop" and "it exposed how poorly the BBC serves gay viewers.