Summary
In the opulent yet morally ambiguous social circles of Neapolitan high society, Isabelle Hamlin, an American expatriate, slowly confronts the stark reality of her husband Richard’s dissolute character. Her burgeoning disillusionment finds solace, and perhaps peril, in the attentions of the charismatic Count Di Varesi, precipitating a fateful duel that leaves Di Varesi wounded and Richard Hamlin inexplicably, dramatically paralyzed mid-attempted spousal murder—a chilling, almost divine retribution. Overcome by a profound, if complex, guilt, Isabelle commits herself to a life of arduous devotion, becoming the unwavering custodian of her incapacitated husband for two decades. The narrative then leaps to Washington, D.C., where their daughter, Rose, stands on the precipice of a promising engagement. A serendipitous encounter reunites Di Varesi, now an Italian Embassy attaché, with Isabelle, unraveling a long-held secret: Rose is, in fact, his biological daughter. His generous offer of a substantial inheritance, intended to secure her future, instead shatters Rose’s world; her fiancé recoils from the revelation of her true parentage. Despairing and profoundly disillusioned, Rose flees to Monte Carlo, embracing a veneer of enigmatic abandon, poised to plunge into a life of recklessness. Yet, the redemptive power of genuine affection intervenes in the form of Edwin Ford. The eventual news of Richard’s demise, coupled with Isabelle and Di Varesi’s long-delayed union, paves the way for Rose and Edwin’s blissful return to America, a testament to enduring love’s capacity to mend the most fractured destinies.
Synopsis
Isabelle and Richard Hamlin, Americans, are guests of the Count Di Varesi in Naples. Isabelle, gradually realizing that her husband is a rake, turns to Di Varesi. A duel between the men results in which Di Varesi is wounded, then Hamlin is suddenly paralyzed as he attempts to kill his wife. Feeling guilty, Isabelle resolves to devote her life to caring for her husband. Twenty years pass, the Hamlins are in Washington, and their daughter Rose is engaged to a young attorney. Di Varesi, now an attaché at the Italian Embassy there, learns that Rose is really his daughter and offers to settle a fortune on her. Discovering her true parentage, her fiancé breaks the engagement, after which a disillusioned Rose goes off to Monte Carlo as a woman of mystery with intentions of living a wild life. She is saved, however, by the love of Edwin Ford. Upon learning of Richard's death and the marriage of Isabelle and Di Varesi, Rose and Edwin return in happiness to America.
