The smart and strong-willed Isabel Archer is brought to Europe by her well-off aunt Touchette to
enter wedlock. Resolved to navigate her own destiny, she unabashedly turns down two eligible suitors
who offer their wealth and devotion to her. Amongst this, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a
handsome, cruel charmer.
Renowned as a masterpiece among James's early writings, this novel portrays the stark contrast
between naivety and high spirits of the new world and deception and wisdom of the old. It also
profoundly counters the themes of individual liberty, duty, treachery and sexuality.