Newland Archer, a promising lawyer, is resigned to settling for a quiet life with his fiancée, May Welland, a lovely but entirely conventional young woman. However, when Countess Olenska, May's rebellious cousin, returns to New York preceded by the scandals of her love life, Newland risks everything for the chance to experience true love. A novel that depicts the hypocrisy of 19th-century aristocracy, as well as the complexities of infidelity.