The lives of two friends are contrasted in Edwardian London. Katharine Hillbery is the bored, frustrated granddaughter of an eminent English poet. She lives at her parents' home and is engaged to a prig who exemplifies the stultifying life from which shewishes to be free, until she meets a possible avenue of escape in the person of Ralph Denham. Mary Dathcet, on the other hand, represents an alternative to marriage -- she has been to college, lives on her own, and finds fulfillment in working for the women's rights movement. As we watch the lives of these two young women, questions about the nature of romance arise. Is love real or illusory? Can love and marriage coexist? Is love necessary for happiness?