Young Irish barrister Phineas Finn defies the uncertainties of his circumstances to stand for Loughshane, wins a seat in Parliament, and enters London political society where Lady Laura Standish becomes his friend and guide and introduces him to figures such as Violet Effingham and the volatile Lord Chiltern, while his growing confidence in parliamentary life is accompanied by an increasingly powerful love for Laura that he hesitates to declare because of his poverty, and when he finally resolves to propose at Loughlinter he discovers that Laura has already accepted the wealthy Robert Kennedy for reasons of financial prudence and social security, leaving Phineas heartbroken but determined to preserve their friendship as his first season in politics ends with success in public life and disappointment in love.
