In which Maisie navigates the new dynamics at home with her stepmother Mrs. Beale, who assumes a fresh role distinct from her former governess, and where the presence and affections surrounding Sir Claude introduce a curious mixture of admiration and affectionate complexity into the child's world. Through conversations and encounters both tender and amusing, Maisie begins to sense the delicate entanglements of adult relationships, weighed with unspoken costs and subtle alliances.