The play is set in the fictional town of Salchester (an amalgam of Salford and Manchester) in the 1900s.
Edgar and Sidney Forsyth have returned early from their honeymoon to Edgar’s home where his parents, John and Mrs Forsyth are surprised to see them.
Jane the maid prepares a room for them, and Samuel Ritchie, a family friend and owner of a business retailing cars, visits for dinner.
John is a rich man, living on his investments and spending much time with friends in the club.
One of his major investments has not been doing well recently but the other has been making up for it.
Edgar has been to university but has no specials skills, other than messing about with motor cars, and expects to become an MP.
His courtship with Sidney had been only for three months and during that time he had not discovered that her political opinions were very different from his; he is a Conservative; she is a left-wing suffragette.
They argue, and she is determined to have a life of her own, despite John’s powerful objections. A year later, John’s other investment has failed and he is a ruined man.
Ritchie offers to help, but is rebuffed and vows never to enter the house again. Jane announces that she has been left a bequest of £20,000 from an uncle in Australia, and leaves her job.
Three months later, despite John’s desperate attempts to speculate, the house and its contents are up for sale.
What happens next?
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