Francis Ashby, a senior Oxford don on vacation alone in the Alps, meets Caroline, an American on vacation with her friend Elinor, a growing Irish-American girl she adopted many years before. Ashby enjoys their company, especially Elinor's, and both ladies are attracted to him. Back at Oxford, he is still shocked when they show up without warning. Women are not allowed on the College grounds, let alone in the rooms. In fact, the upstanding Fellows look down on any kind of relationship, no matter how innocent it is.