Emma Wodehouse has led a simple life, but during the course of this, she at last reaps her share of the world's vexations. In this comedy of manners, the heroine learns to come to terms with the reality of other people, and with her own erring nature.

This is the story of two sisters: one with good sense and the other with romantic sensibility. Together with their mother they must make a life for themselves after the death of their father. They are obliged to leave their home and have very little money to live on. Marriage offers the best prospect of security, but the Dashwood sisters have very different ideas on love and marriage.