On the death of Mr Dashwood, his wife and their three daughters, Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, are forced to drastically reduce their standard of living and leave their beautiful property for exile in the countryside. Indeed, the son of the first marriage of the late Mr. Dashwood and his stepdaughter who must inherit. The Dashwood sisters and their mother moved into a cottage in Devonshire, kindly made available by a distant cousin. The two heroines of this novel are the two eldest Elinor and Marianne which we follow the amorous adventures. Elinor, wise and reasonable feels tender feelings for Edward Ferrars, the brother of his wife's sister. These feelings seem mixed. But the difference in fortune, to the detriment of Elinor, and commitment of the young man with a cousin, frivolous and thoughtless, undermine their romance.