Having taken his son to Casalunga in Italy, Louis withdraws ever further from society and family, physically deteriorating while endlessly repeating his jealousy of Emily and his conviction that he has been wronged, until his mental condition has plainly moved beyond ordinary suspicion into madness. The Rowleys cross the Alps in an effort to find him and reunite Emily with her child, but even in his increasingly desperate condition Louis continues to protect his pride and certainty rather than open himself to those who love him, allowing what began as a minor marital quarrel to become a tragedy that destroys nearly every part of his life. Meanwhile Nora knowingly chooses a comparatively poor future with Hugh, Glascock pursues marriage with the American Caroline Spalding, and Dorothy's relationship with Brooke becomes more secure, making the willingness of these characters to trust and compromise an increasingly powerful contrast with Louis's inflexibility.
