New York heiress Catherine Sloper accepted the sad truth that her lover Morris Townsend cared only for her fortune. Morris jilted her after learning she was to be disinherited by her cold, unbending father.

Twenty years later, Catherine is a confirmed spinster. Her life is centered on her charities and gardening. She has no intention of letting Morris Townsend or any other despicable rake into her life or her heart. Morris is back in pre-Civil War New York. His presence will test her resolve.

The 19th Century classic Washington Square by master storyteller Henry James leaves the young heroine to her solitary fate. The sequel, Return to Washington Square tells the rest of her story.