Summary

Alice is 17 1/2 years old when she makes her debut at the Waldorf Astoria. Her civilian escort is Peter Van Laar II who is a friend of her sister’s love, George. After the debut, Alice and her chaperone and sister Delphine are invited to the Van Laar estate. A car comes to pick them up and take them to the Van Laar residence. Alice still does not know much more about Peter. The driver tells him that the Van Laar home was brought over from Switzerland and is named Self-Reliance. The driver points out that while the building is named Self-Reliance, the Van Laars, themselves, were not the ones to put it back together in its current location in the Adirondack Mountains.

Delphine initiates conversation with Peter II when the two sisters arrive at the estate. When Alice gets to her...