Lawrence Redding is a young painter who moved to St. Mary Mead for a change. His cottage is across the way from the rail station and is near the town's shops. This artist gets romantically involved with young ladies, not to mention those of St. Mary Mead. That's not the only problem: a man fresh from jail sends his mother (the maid of Redding) to steal from Redding (the employer). For lack of a place to work, the town vicar Mr. Clement lent Redding a small house on the Vicarage's property to serve as an art studio.