This novel centers around the weekend party that Alice Barton, a shy English girl, attends at Pomfret Towers, the magnificent seventeenth-century home of Lord Pomfret. Alice's mother, Mrs. Barton, has decided that now is the time that timid, home-centered Alice, must learn to socialize. Alice, mustering all of her courage, agrees to join the gathering at the elegant Towers. Though painfully shy at first, Alice soon breaks out of her shell. She begins to mingle with the other young guests, develops friendships, and even falls in love. The story also portrays the competition between two mothers (Phoebe's and Alice's), both authors. Mrs. Rivers comes up short.