In which poor Hetta Carbury, troubled by grievous revelations, undertakes the difficult task of ending all hope between her brother and Miss Melmotte, a young lady caught in the turmoil of her father's mistrust and her own passionate despair. The cruel complexities of love, honour, and family discord are laid bare, painting a somber picture of disappointed affections and thwarted intentions in the drawing-rooms and backstreets of London society.