| Director | Nigel Cole |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy film |
| Runtime | 93 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $26.3 million |
Soon after the funeral of her husband (who died 'suspiciously' – he 'jumped' out of a plane without a parachute), Cornish housewife Grace Trevethyn discovers that she has been left with his massive debts. Unless she can raise a large amount of money, she will lose both her home and all of her possessions. Her loyal gardener Matthew offers to continue working without pay if she were to care for his dying cannabis plants, so Grace agrees. The plants flourish under her care so, talking with Matthew she realises they could grow and produce lots of cannabis in a short time.
With no other options and a creditor calling her home, Grace agrees to transform her greenhouse for the project. Matthew's girlfriend Nicky disapproves of the plan, particularly as she has recently learned from the town doctor and friend Martin Bamford that she is pregnant. While the plants are growing Grace meets her dead husband's mistress, Honey, but sends her away after realizing that her husband was more sexual with Honey than with her. As she's never tried it, Grace asks Matthew to smoke cannabis with her. They sit on the edge of the sea and share a spliff.
Grace eventually learns that Nicky is pregnant and decides to seek out a buyer on her own to protect Matthew. When this proves to be more difficult than she expected, she has Honey introduce her to a drug dealer, Vince, only for him to lack the capital to purchase such a large crop. He introduces her to French businessman Jacques Chevalier, whom Grace manages to impress with her knowledge of fly fishing and French. After initial disruptions, Chevalier and Grace negotiate a deal for the cannabis, and Grace, Vince, and Dr Bamford (who, with Matthew, had followed Grace to London) head back home; Chevalier secretly instructs his bodyguard to take Vince and follow them to Grace's home.
Once home, Grace discovers that the Women's Institute is preparing to hold a luncheon in her garden, and that the creditors are coming to remove her furniture and possessions. Matthew reconciles with Nicky and to his joy, learns that she's pregnant. Together the two stall Vince and the bodyguard by telling the local Police Sergeant Alfred Mabely that they are poachers. Meanwhile some of the Women's Institute members consume cannabis in liquid form, thinking that it was actually tea.
As Grace and her friends try to dismantle the cultivation, chaos breaks loose as the police (called by Mabely on the purported poachers), Jacques's people, and the creditors all arrive at the house. Grace chooses to burn the cannabis so no one can have it. Unable to resist, Martin opens the doors to the greenhouse and sends out a cloud of cannabis smoke that envelops the crowd. Meanwhile in her home, Grace has discovered Jacques, who tells her that he only wanted his bodyguard to protect her, as he has fallen for her.
Several months later the town's residents gather in the pub to watch a television special about Grace's seemingly overnight transition from an unknown widow to a millionaire after the success of her novel The Joint Venture. The special also covers Grace's marriage to Chevalier, as well as the large riot at her house in which "nobody could remember anything."