Maria wakes to find herself imprisoned in an asylum, separated from her infant daughter and placed there by her husband.

Jemima, a worker at the asylum, begins bringing Maria books and writing materials to ease her confinement.

Maria and fellow prisoner Henry Darnford begin exchanging written notes passed back and forth through Jemima.

Darnford visits Maria's cell and the two openly confess their love for one another.

Jemima returns from London and delivers the devastating news that Maria's infant daughter has died.

Maria's retrospective narrative begins, describing her unhappy childhood and her parents' strong favoritism toward her elder brother.

Maria meets the Venables family and becomes romantically drawn to George Venables, a handsome young man.

Maria agrees to marry George Venables, hoping to escape her miserable family home.

Maria discovers George's true character: he gambles recklessly, accumulates debts, and becomes cold and neglectful.

George admits to Maria that he gave his friend Mr. S permission to sleep with her in exchange for money.

Maria removes her wedding ring and formally declares her marriage over, with Mr. S present as a witness.

Maria gives birth to a daughter in London and immediately learns that her beloved uncle has died in Portugal.

Maria boards a coach bound for Dover but is drugged by a maid hired by George and wakes imprisoned in the asylum.

Maria and Jemima successfully escape from the asylum together, and Darnford is released shortly afterward.

Maria attempts suicide after Darnford betrays her but is saved by Jemima, who reunites her with her living daughter.

Maria finds herself trapped in an asylum by her husband and befriends fellow prisoner Henry Darnford, with whom she falls in love. Through a manuscript written for her daughter, Maria recounts how her unhappy childhood led her to hastily marry George Venables, who proved to be dissolute, cruel, and financially ruinous. George's ultimate act of betrayal — trading access to his wife for money — drives Maria to formally end the marriage and flee, only to be drugged and imprisoned. After escaping with Jemima's help, Maria faces a legal defeat and the eventual betrayal of Darnford, leaving her in despair. In the most hopeful of the novel's possible endings, Maria is rescued by Jemima and reunited with a daughter she was told had died.

The headline events of Maria's imprisonment, marriage, and fight for freedom.

Maria tries to convince the asylum staff that she does not belong there but is dismissed as irrational.

Maria notices that books brought by Jemima contain thoughtful margin notes written by another prisoner in the asylum.

Jemima refuses to help Maria escape but agrees to soften the harsh conditions of her imprisonment.

Jemima shares the full story of her difficult and traumatic past life with Maria and Darnford.

Jemima's mother dies shortly after giving birth, leaving Jemima to grow up entirely without maternal care or love.

Jemima's employer rapes her, and when his wife discovers the relationship, she beats Jemima and throws her out.

Jemima becomes the mistress of a wealthy educated man and discovers the pleasures of intellectual and literary life.

Jemima convinces a man to dismiss his pregnant mistress, and the destitute, abandoned woman drowns herself.

Maria's mother dies and Maria takes on new household responsibilities as her father begins a relationship with another woman.

Maria's uncle gives her money before departing for Portugal, but George immediately spends all of it.

Maria moves repeatedly between different London lodgings as George relentlessly tracks her down each time.

After Maria, Darnford, and Jemima move in together in London, George launches an adultery lawsuit against Darnford.

Maria presents a bold written statement in court asserting that she freely chose to end her marriage and take a new partner.

The judge rules in George's favor, rejecting Maria's argument that women have the right to leave an unhappy marriage.

Darnford's letters to Maria become increasingly erratic and irregular, signaling his coming betrayal and abandonment.

Pool 2 covers the secondary but vital events that illuminate the broader world of the novel. Jemima's tragic backstory — beginning with her mother's death and moving through rape, intellectual awakening, and devastating guilt — reveals the layers of suffering women endure across social classes. Maria's domestic history, including her mother's death and the financial treacheries that erode her marriage, deepens the context for her eventual flight from George. The aftermath of Maria's escape leads to social ostracism and a drawn-out legal drama in which she boldly defends her own choices before an unsympathetic court. The pool concludes with Darnford's growing unreliability, foreshadowing the collapse of the relationship Maria sacrificed so much to pursue.

The supporting moments that shape Maria's world and the women around her.

Maria catches her first glimpse of fellow prisoner Henry Darnford during an early morning walk in the asylum grounds.

A note signed by Henry Darnford falls out of one of the books Jemima brings to Maria's cell.

Darnford visits Maria's cell for the first time and reveals he was unjustly seized and imprisoned by an unknown enemy.

Jemima induces an abortion using medicine her employer provided, after being ejected from his home with no financial support.

Jemima agrees to travel to London to investigate what has happened to Maria's infant daughter.

George Venables gives Maria a small guinea coin, which she mistakenly interprets as evidence of his generous and virtuous character.

Maria's uncle advises her that a marriage of her own choosing might offer her an escape from her unhappy family home.

Maria later discovers that her uncle secretly paid George five thousand pounds as an incentive to marry her.

Mr. S reveals to Maria the full catastrophic extent of George's financial ruin during his regular visits to their home.

Maria flees her marital home after George locks her in a room and refuses to release her.

George places a newspaper advertisement publicly declaring that Maria has run away and threatening legal action against anyone who helps her.

George stops pursuing Maria after fearing that her stress-induced miscarriage could kill her before she inherits her uncle's fortune.

Maria pays George a sum of money in exchange for his signature on a document promising to leave her alone.

Maria and Darnford become lovers in the asylum, and she privately considers him her true husband.

After his release, Darnford reveals that a corrupt executor had him confined in the asylum to steal his inheritance.

Pool 3 captures the pivotal moments of revelation and decision that drive the story's direction. From Maria's first glimpse of Darnford and the exchanged notes that begin their romance, to Jemima's abortion and the grim secrets behind Maria's marriage, each event marks a significant shift in understanding or circumstance. Maria's discovery that her uncle paid George to marry her, and George's scheme to trade his wife for money, expose the economic foundations of her oppression. The events of Maria's flight — George's public advertisement, his strategic withdrawal, and her forced settlement — show her running out of options before George engineers her final trap. The pool ends after the escape with Darnford's revelation of the conspiracy behind his imprisonment, a bittersweet discovery amid Maria's growing vulnerability.