Into the narrow social world of New York in I the 1870s comes Countess Ellen
Olenska, surrounded by shocked whispers about her failed marriage to a rich
Polish Count. A woman who leaves her husband can never be accepted in polite
society. Newland Archer is engaged to young May Wetland, but the beautiful and
mysterious Countess needs his help. He becomes her friend and defender, but
friendship with an unhappy, lonely woman is a dangerous path for a young man to
follow - especially a young man who is soon to be married.