The book follows a period in the lives of two friends, Rachel West and Hester Gresley. Rachel is a wealthy heiress who falls in love with the weak-willed Hugh Scarlett after he has broken off an affair with Lady Newhaven (which he does not originally realize has been discovered by her husband). Hester, a novelist, lives with her brother, the pompous vicar of the fictional village of Warpington. The book caused a scandal when it was first published due to its themes of adultery, the emancipation of women and its satire of the clergy. (Wikipedia)