Aging Leo Colston recalls of those days that he has spent as a boy with his school friend Marcus Maudsley in the estate Brandy Hall in the summer of 1900. The conviction of the immutability of the established order of centuries, when every man should occupy in society a certain position corresponding to his origin is the basis of the British worldview that is presented in the novel through the eyes of a child from a poor family in the atmosphere of a rich house. Everything is done according to the ritual: the servants and members of the lower classes are treated politely, to the breakfast they descend only in shoes and in no case in slippers. All these details come up in the memory of the narrator who found a diary which he led as a child and recorded the impressions of that time.
Mrs Maudsley, her husband, their daughter Marian, sons Dennis and Marcus appear in the novel as the masters of life who know their worth. Everyone is used by them for their own means - either entertainment or enjoyment, or to strengthen their position in society. Leo Colston was invited on a vacation to their son Marcus so he would not be bored in adult society where nobody showed interest in him - neither the father, nor the brother and sister, nor mother. Leo in his origin standing much lower, admired these people in whose power it was to destroy him with "a mockery, or bestow with a smile". He was under the power of illusion from which he would recover.
A susceptible Leo observes different bright details and they were the most "speaking" to characterize the system of social and psychological relations in a society divided by rigid partitions. Although the narrator guessed at first only dimly that he was in another world where as a representative of a lower class he was looked down. It all started with the clothing - one of the main components of the ritual which was religiously observed in Brandy Hall. Leo had no idea why among people watching life as a ritual, he looked like a black sheep, of what Maudsley family members tactfully said him. The most openly, childlike, Marcus enlightened Leo about the fact that only the ignorant wear school dress in vacation and that school ribbon around the hat should not be tied. Soon it turned out that Leo had no summer suit and he became an object of ridicule in the form of polite advice and impracticable suggestions.
Finally Marian offered to give Leo a summer suit and the whole family discussed in detail in which store to buy it and then, after the purchase, - the color of the suit. Leo was happy, it seemed that the new clothing would help him to take a more important place in the world. Marian’s favorable attitude inspired him, and she used Leo for her own purposes - instructed him to carry the note to a neighboring farmer Ted Burgess, her lover. Leo kept a secret entrusted to him as he was ready to do anything for Marian, and Ted referred to the noble guest with reverence.
Ted was a farmer, one of those who fed England, and the narrator respectfully described him working on the field, when Leo brought him or took the notes. Ted held with dignity, although he was only a tenant of land.
Ted was an unofficial rival of Lord Trimingem in the fight for the heart of Marian, but she told Leo that she and Ted had only business correspondence. Leo held very significant information, on which depended too much - in fact the future of her family, who wanted Marian to marry the Lord, and so to strengthen their position in society. Trimingem is opposed to Ted - he is not developed physically, and on his face has a scar obtained during the Anglo-Boer War. He was the owner of the estate and all the land around. He clearly was unsympathetic to Marian, but according to the unwritten laws of British society all must be decided in his favor, for farmer is no match for the Lord and feelings here mean nothing. Each of them served as a means: Ted - for amorous pleasures of Marian, Trimingem - for elevation of the whole family in the social hierarchy.
In the eyes of Leo Trimingem was a carrier of the British forces of the spirit, the ideal of the gentleman who embodied the traditional human values of an English version. He participated in the victorious war with the Boers. Such people are put on the farmers and husbandmen, like Ted Burgess (although both are appreciated by the narrator), they hold in their hands the helm of governance.
Leo soon fell in love with Marian, and began to realize that behind all her good deeds stood cold calculation – to use him as an intermediary, the postman carrying notes to Ted. He guessed about the meaning of her relationship with Ted and perceived this as a betrayal, because everybody knew about the engagement of Marian with the Lord. But Marian insisted on the fulfillment of orders and gave him a bicycle for his birthday, bringing joy to the boy, she did not forget about her interest - on the bike it was easier to get to Ted's farm.
Leo found out that Lord offered Ted to go to serve in the army and told about it Marian who came in great excitement. Leo himself was behaving recklessly and gave Mrs Maudsley a cause for suspicion. She discovered the lovers in the shed during their date. Later Leo learnt that when got home Ted shot himself. After all these events Leo became ill for a long time and received a lifetime heavy mental trauma. He never married, because on the example of Ted had seen how a love relationship could end.
