Olive, a militant 19th century suffragette, takes on the education of a young girl with the gift of oratory. Olive hopes to use her gift for the feminist cause, but finds her student involved in a love triangle with Basil Ransom, a young lawyer from Mississippi, who is strongly opposed to the feminists in Boston.

Margaret and Helen Schlegel are sisters from a well-educated European family. A series of events brings them into a relationship with the very English Wilcox family. Both families also come into contact with Leonard Bast and his wife, a couple near the lowest tier of the rigid class system. Leonard's desire for cultural and intellectual status attracts the attention of Helen. Margaret must reconcile her independent spirit with her desire for companionship...