To illuminate the changing times, Forster throws together three vastly dissimilar classes of people: the Schlegels, Helen and Margaret, educated, compassionate and independently wealthy; the Wilcoxes, nouveau riche Empire builders; and Leonard Bast, an ambitious but struggling bank clerk. When impetuous Helen Schlegel believes herself to be in love with Paul, the youngest of the Wilcox sons, she sparks off a connection between the two families that...