The film is set in 1930s London. After the death of his wife a year earlier, Michael Banks lives in his childhood home with his three children, Annabel, John, and Georgie, and with his sister Jane. Michael has taken a loan from his employer, the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, and Wilkins, the bank's corrupt new chairman, sends associates to warn him that his house will be Repossession if the loan is not repaid in full by Friday. Michael and Jane recall that their father had left them shares in the bank that should cover the loan, and they search the house for the Stock certificate. During the search Michael finds his childhood kite and decides to dispose of it.