The highly respectable institution run by Dr. Wortle suffers the stigma of impropriety in the small parish of Bowick when it is discovered that the Peacockes, an American couple hired to work at the academy, may or may not be living in a dubious state of wedlock. The kindly Wortle and the otherwise sterling Mr. and Mrs. Peacocke are faced with the defense and restoration of honor, while, in genuine Trollope fashion, other romantic entanglement subplots ensue, involving the younger set.