Book excerpt: Susan Vernon, already somewhat old, has lost her husband. Despite this, the woman does not despair but tries to establish all spheres of her life by any means, going "by the corpses". The family estate, in which the whole family lived, was sold for numerous debts. Because of this, the widowed lady is no longer taken in at the decent houses of the district. This circumstance considerably spoils the life of the pretentious lady, who is accustomed to attention, flattery, and expensive decorations. It is because of this that the main life goal of Lady Susan is to improve her financial situation. One of the possible ways leading to the realization of this idea is the successful marriage of the young daughter.Suddenly, the widow receives an invitation to stay with her deceased husband's brother. Lady Susan sees this as an interesting opportunity and immediately agrees. Having looked in advance for the young daughter of the rich lord, the mother throws away her former life and friends, and goes to a new place - to try her luck. His brother's family lives in the provinces. The attentive reader understands that the invitation to visit was purely formal, therefore relatives are not at all delighted with the newcomers. However, following the rules of good taste, the guests are received in a well-mannered and friendly way.The young lord whom the lady has looked after for her daughter is incredibly stupid. He is not interested in the young and impressionable Frederic, even disgusted. The Lord, in turn, is more interested in the older lady than with the young naive creature. Meanwhile, to the lady Susan comes brother - Reginald de Courcy - a rich and educated man. Learning about the excellent financial condition of a relative, Lady Vernon believes that he can become a worthy candidate for the role of the second husband.