The Whirl: A Romance of Washington Society

Sir Percy Carlyon has just arrived in Washington as First Secretary of the British Embassy, and he carries with him a dangerous prejudice: he finds American women tiresome, yet irresistible. During a solitary winter walk through the capital's chill streets, he reflects on his past infatuation with Alicia Vernon, daughter of General Talbott, and braces himself for the social conquests ahead. The embassy ball promises first contact with the glittering world of Washington society, a world where political ambition and romantic desire intertwine at every turn. There he meets Lucy Armytage, whose charm threatens to undo all his careful resolutions. As Percy navigates diplomatic intrigue and the intoxicating chaos of American high society, he discovers that the real revolution is personal: can a man who dismisses an entire culture fall helplessly within it? This is a sparkling portrait of cultural collision, where Britain's stiff reserve meets America's brash vitality, and where the heart's diplomacy proves far more treacherous than any treaty negotiation.