Boston, 1876: At a Women’s Movement meeting, fiercely independent Olive (Vanessa Redgrave) becomes mentor to gifted young orator Verena (Madeleine Potter)—who also attracts the amorous attentions of Olive’s Southern cousin Basil (Christopher Reeve). Merchant Ivory explores the subtle power struggles between sex and class, and the contesting demands of courtship and sapphic friendship in this delicately precise adaptation of James’s novel.