The Scapegoat

In 1952 schoolmaster John Standing meets the aristocratic Johnny Spence,his exact double. After a night of drinking John wakes with a hang-over to find that Spence has disappeared,leaving him to substitute for him. John finds he has 'inherited' a country house with a bed-ridden,drug-addicted mother,put-upon wife Frances,scornful sister Blanche,little daughter Mary Lou and two mistresses,one married to his brother Paul. After unsuccessfully trying to explain the situation and make his escape John settles into his new identity,surprising himself with his capability as he helps his mother off the drugs,turns round the family's ailing glass-making business and gives much-needed affection to Frances,an heiress,whose death would make her widower extremely rich. Then Johnny Spence reappears and it becomes clear why he has used John as a scapegoat,to provide an alibi for a crime he intends to commit...