A feminist Oedipus, cut through with Wharton's usual condemnation of social class and high society.
Kate Clephane was driven out of New York years ago for abandoning her husband and daughter, Anne, which is why she is so surprised to be asked by to America by the same daughter. Anne is set to marry Chris Fenno, a war hero of questionable intentions — and a former lover of Kate's, putting her in a particularly delicate situation.
