It is a melodrama told from the point of view of a young woman who realises her new husband has been in a long-standing affair with another man.

The book is told from the point of view of Elsie Bouverie, a pretty, frivolous English girl who falls in love with handsome, quiet Arthur Ravener.

The book is notable for its portrayal of a gay romance at a time when mainstream fiction avoided this topic.

[1] Its melodramatic format is closely linked to its author's occupation as a New York drama critic at a time when the primary American theatre form was melodrama.

[2] Its publication roughly coincided with the Cleveland Street scandal, a case that had been developing for years involving a London gay brothel.