In which the young Maisie is ushered into a bewildering world of adult conflicts and divided loyalties, observing with a mixture of innocence and acute perception the strained affections and sharp words exchanged by those around her. Her small existence becomes a theatre of complicated emotions and expectations, marked by the poignant attentions of her nurse and the charged attentions of her parents, as she navigates the precarious balance between tenderness and turmoil.