Three young women stand at the threshold between childhood and society's expectations. Eileen and Marjorie, identical twins, along with their cousin Letitia, have just left school and now face a world demanding they transform into proper Victorian wives. Their mother, Mrs. Chetwynd, has meticulously planned their social debut, envisioning elegant marriages and elevated status. But the girls harbor different dreams: they want to attend St. Wode's College, to pursue education and forge independent lives. Their resistance sets up a compelling generational and philosophical clash about what women can and should desire. L.T. Meade captures a pivotal historical moment when educated women began questioning the limited roles society prescribed, making this novel both a spirited period piece and a surprisingly contemporary story of young women daring to imagine futures different from the ones laid out for them.
