An unfinished manuscript written in ponderous, convoluted language making possible subterfuge and frankness in wealthy American society of James' purview, in which a character as unsuspecting as the reader gets embroiled more or less willingly in power shifts over a massive inheritance. The first part of the book is an example of James' late adoption of narrator as seemingly blinkered as his characters to the unseen, leaving the "i's" deliberately undotted, as he says; and the second part is a great study in the stages of execution of a novel, notably sketching out the flow and identifying "joints" in the drama, and resolving potential sticking points. James' style lends itself to filmic imagination. (summary by Czandra)