Chips has always appeared to be a confirmed bachelor. He has reached the age of forty-eight and is still not married, very rare for men of that time. Given his somewhat unflattering opinion of modern women, it seems his bachelorhood will be a permanent condition. All that changes, however, during a summer vacation in the Lake District. One day he notices a young lady standing on a dangerous rock, waving her hand. Chips immediately thinks she is in danger, so, being a gallant old chap, he rushes to her rescue. Unfortunately, poor old Chips sprains his ankle in the attempt. In any case, the young lady wasn't in trouble, after all.

Katherine—for it is she—was simply waving to a friend, but she feels that Chips's injury is kind of her fault. So she helps him get to a safe place where he can rest his ankle. There they get acquainted. Chips is instantly taken by this vision of loveliness. Yet not only is Katherine rather pretty, she's also very much a modern woman, someone highly intelligent and with ideas of her own. Previously, Chips—very much a man of his time—had dismissed such women as "monstrous creatures." But now, in the presence of Katherine, he gains a whole new perspective on things. This is the start of a truly beautiful relationship.