Shy and plain young girl Catherine Sloper falls desperately in love with the charming and handsome Morris Townsend. Catherine’s father, a successful doctor, forbids their marriage, fearing that the attraction Morris feels for Catherine may be more for her fortune than for her character. Catherine’s love for Morris is genuine but haunted by doubts regarding her appearance and lack of worldly experience. Her fears are realized when her proposed plan of an elopement fails to succeed, and she retreats into a world of loneliness. But when Morris returns and proposes to her once again, she responds in a shockingly unexpected way. His reaction leaves us to wonder whether Morris is sincere in his love for Catherine, or is rather the fulfillment of Catherine’s fears.