Set in Gosford House, Scotland, Lucia is a drama about a beautiful young woman who indulges her love for a handsome singer despite her brother Hamish's (Mark Holland) cynical plans to marry her off to an alcoholic American tenor whose rich parents have promised to save their magnificent but crumbling Scottish stately home.

Don Boyd, the film's writer and director, has interwoven into this contemporary tale Donizetti's music and the historical context of Scott's novel. Kate Ashton (Amanda Boyd) is a very talented soprano. Hamish decides to present 'Lucia di Lammermoor' in celebration of his sister's wedding to Oliver (John Osborn). As the protagonists in the film rehearse and present the music, the principal contemporary characters - Kate and Sam (Richard Coxon) - reinforce their passion for each other through the fantasies and dreams they experience as a natural extension of their work as performers. While the movie progresses, the audience is invited to shift seamlessly between reality and fantasy, real characters and performers, contemporary and historical situations. So much so that the distinctions become irrelevant.