Following the death of her father, Isabel Archer leaves the comforts of her Albany, New York home to live with her aunt Lydia Touchett in London. While there she meets Lydia's well-to-do husband David, her cousin Ralph, and the Touchett's proud neighbor, Lord Warburton. Soon after, marriage proposals arrive from Lord Warburton and Caspar Goodwood, the son of a wealthy mill owner. James's early masterpiece features profound writing about personal freedom and betrayal, and describes an old world giving way to the new.