Grace Ravenglass is the owner of Luckenham House, an estate in the picturesque Hudson Valley near the metropolis of New York. Grace is just about to break up her marriage and has to come to terms with her husband Edward moving out to be with his younger lover when she meets Ellie Summers. The young artist earns her living with commissioned drawings of private houses. She also offers her services to Grace. As different as the women seem, they like each other straight away. Grace understands how Ellie feels, having been left pregnant by her boyfriend, and offers her a place to stay at Luckenham.