Augustus Melmotte arrives in London with his wife and daughter. He appears charming and noble, but a deceitful financier lies beneath the surface.EAsting no time, he charms an unwitting Paul Montague into investing in one of his schemes. But as Melmotte climbs the social ladder, his web of deceit captures his own daughter, Marie, and suitor Felix Carbury, son of feckless novelist Lady Carbury.