Swan Song is the conclusion of the second trilogy in the Forsyte Chronicles, which is called A Modern Comedy. John Galsworthy's epic story of the moneyed Forsyte family is a fascinating study of the British propertied class during the decline of the Victorian age.

The "man of property," Soames Forsyte, has mellowed with the passing of the years until, in his old age, he is a patient and benign figure, guarding with especial tenderness the welfare of his daughter, Fleur. But all his watchfulness and devotion are powerless to avert tragedy when Fleur revives her old love affair with Jon Forsyte on Jon's return to England with his American wife.