Whilst at Oxford University a chance encounter with the charming and decadent Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), son of Lord and Lady Marchmain (Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson), draws Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) into the exclusive world of British high society. For the impressionable Charles, Sebastian’s world of money, glamour and outrageous behaviour makes for a seductive cocktail. Sebastian takes Charles under his wing and when he's invited to 'Brideshead', the Flyte family's magnificent ancestral home, Charles becomes infatuated with Julia (Hayley Atwell), Sebastian’s beautiful sister.