After the Daventrys’ death, Cynthia marries Captain Harry Rames, an up-and-coming politician whom she had first admired years earlier when as a naval officer he had led an expedition to the Antarctic. She realises that Rames does not love her but hopes that he will in time. Meanwhile, she throws herself into furthering his political career, while secretly regretting that his activities are driven not by any inner conviction but by his desire to win power and influence.
