Set against the background of an immense country estate in Victorian England, a brother and sister struggle with the ever-shifting imbalance of power between them. The title characters are opposites, each bent on proving the other inferior. First, it is the amiable, hedonistic Eustace who depends, though reluctantly, on his opinionated and puritanical older sister. Later, a nervous breakdown and physical collapse force Hilda to rely on her brother, who dedicates himself to restoring her health. In the poignant conclusion, Eustace's devotion proves to be his destruction, and for Hilda, an ambiguous triumph. Like Brideshead Revisited, Hartley's novel astutely evokes the intricacies of upper-class English life in a bygone era.