This is a tragedy in 5 Acts set in nineteenth-century Britain. It is written in blank verse and is set in England. The play opens with an encounter between Earl Guildford and Bertrand his nephew who, in a soliloquy just before Guildford's entrance, has told the audience of his dislike of Guidford's son Rivers. It appears there will be trouble between these young men and Guildford's two daughters, one of whom is adopted.