Sir George Tressady has just won his seat in Parliament, but victory brings no peace. A young mine owner thrust into the turbulent politics of industrial England, George finds himself caught between the demands of his class, the simmering anger of his workers, and the treacherous waters of political ambition. When he encounters Marcella Raeburn, a brilliant, manipulative woman married to a powerful statesman, he is drawn into her orbit despite every warning sign. She wants his support for her husband's campaign, and she will use his attraction to her advantage. But George, restless in his marriage and hungry for meaning beyond wealth and privilege, cannot help falling. As his wife carries his child and labor troubles brew in his mines, George must choose between the life he has built and the dangerous illusion Marcella offers. Volume I of Mrs. Humphry Ward's penetrating Victorian novel maps the moral collapse of a man who believes he is too clever to be deceived, and proves him catastrophically wrong.
