As the summer of 1899 ends, Lord Dilberne's decision to remain in Belgrave Square rather than move the household to the ancestral acres of Dilberne Court, sends out ripples of concern over his debts. The ripples spread to his wife Isobel and still unmarried children, Arthur, who keeps a courtesan in Half Moon Street, and Rosina, who airs fashionably progressive views. These changes not only affect the lives of those above stairs, but also below. And matters are further complicated by the arrival on the London scene of Minnie, an American heiress, and her resourceful mother intent on finding her daughter a husband.