The story follows a dinner party given by Bertha Young and her husband, Harry. The writing shows Bertha depicted as a happy soul, though quite naive about the world she lives in and those closest to her. The story opened up a lot of questions, about deceit, about knowing oneself and also about the possibility of homosexuality at the start of the 20th century. The story gives us a bird's eye view of the dinner party, which is attended by a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Knight, who are close friends to Bertha and Harry. Guest, Eddie Warren, is an effeminate character, who adds an interesting mix to the party. The only other guest, Pearl Fulton, is someone who Bertha is mysteriously drawn to for reasons unknown to her at the start. The interesting thing is that Bertha's husband is presented to the reader as Bertha perceives him in her mind. Because Bertha is so naive, the reader first gets the impression that Harry is a crude, disinterested person who has a strong dislike for Pearl by his