In which two English ladies, newly arrived at a modest pension in Italy, find themselves embroiled in a dispute over their lodgings with a brusque old man and his quiet son, while their spirits lift upon the appearance of a genial clergyman who introduces them to the charms and eccentricities of their new surroundings. Through whispered counsel and social manoeuvres, the guests negotiate kindnesses and accommodations amid the peculiarities of the pension’s inhabitants, set against the soft evening light falling over the Arno.