It is late in the Victorian era, and two branches of an upper-crust family--the "good" Forsytes, headed by well-meaning Old Jolyon, and the "bad" Forsytes, headed by crusty barrister James--are at odds, eternally squabbling. The 'saga' focuses on the younger generations - Young Jolyon, Soames, Winifred, June - and their struggles with emotional repression, the rejection of Victorian mores, and the sea changes taking place as a less repressive society...

The story of Soames Forsyte, a solicitor and the wealthy head of a middle-class family in London during the nineteenth century.