The Little House

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Ep 1 Young Ruth Clee's independent city life is turned upside down when her in-laws buy a long coveted country cottage on their doorstep for their son and daughter-in-law. Isolated and remote, it's the exact opposite of everything Ruth has planned for the future but the pressure to move is irresistible when she unexpectedly falls pregnant and her husband Patrick, ever in thrall to his mother, is determined to move. After the difficult birth of her son Thomas by caesarean section, Ruth, struggling to bond with her demanding and fractious child is driven to the point of exhaustion through lack of sleep. However, her subtly manipulative mother-in-law Elizabeth, is always on hand to ease tensions, and seizes every opportunity to remove the child to the sanctuary of her own house. Patrick's work leaves him little time to lend a hand and as Ruth bears the brunt of Thomas's demands matters come to a sudden head when baby Thomas suffers a cigarette burn. Ruth stands accused and Ruth is persuaded to enter a private clinic voluntarily. Elizabeth, flanked by her husband and son, and nursing baby Thomas watches as Ruth is driven away. With an emphatic satisfaction evident on her face, the family forms a chillingly sinister tableaux.