While the marriages of Lady Hermione and Lady Lucretia Shallock proceed towards favourable consummation, not all existing unions among Clorinda, Dowager Lady Bexbury's circle, are in a happy and settled state. A wedding is planned in less elevated surroundings. Several of the younger single members of the set feel themselves beleaguered by the pressures of Society's Marriage Market. Meanwhile, the repercussions of Miles O'Neill's elopement with the intended bride of Lord Fendersham continue to produce dramatic complications for all concerned. Opportunities for the exercise of talents present themselves.