Englishman Ed Brown has been left standing at the altar. Hoping to leave behind memories of his ex-fiancée and get a fresh start, he takes a teaching job in Endon, a rural Alberta town, rather crudely described by a local as a one-horse town at the arse-end of nowhere. Despite the small talent pool, Ed is determined to put on a school production of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta The Mikado, but the local pastor is opposed to the production and has the power to prevent the children of his flock from taking part.

The arrival in town of the nomadic Sewall family, including the parents' young niece, Mary, results in more trouble. She has a beautiful singing voice, and Ed needs her for his production, but he's also enticed by her uncanny resemblance to his ex-fiancée. Can Ed resist temptation or will he go down a very dark path? And if anything else could go wrong and jeopardize the production, it does.