Joe is busy cutting a swathe through Warley society and is playing with the affections of two women: Susan Brown, the daughter of the richest man in Warley, and Alice Aisgill, a married older woman. But Joe is making enemies as well as friends. Escaping the prying eyes of Susan's spies, Joe takes Alice on an illicit holiday to the coast. In a cottage by the sea, they dare to dream. Back in Warley, Joe realises that he is going to have to choose between Alice and Susan.