Fleur, daughter of Soames Forsyte, marries Michael Mont, whose best friend Wilfrid Desert, author, painter, and traveler, is also in love with her. He knows that Fleur married Michael without any love for him. When Fleur refuses to allow him to leave London, he decides that he has a chance to win her. Wilfrid tells Michael that he will win her away from him if he can. Michael, also of the generation after the war, refuses to coerce Fleur or attempt any heroics with Wilfred. He later discovers them together after she has told him that she has gone.