This -- the first of the six "Palliser" novels of Anthony Trollope -- revolves around the intriguing character of Alice Vavasor, one of the most striking heroines of Victorian fiction. Alice, although stubborn and self-willed, cannot decide whether to marry her evil cousin George Vavasor (to whom, in a romantic moment of youthful folly, she had given her heart) or John Grey, a steadfast country gentleman.