The plot is simple: Lady Susan, a clever and ruthless widow, determines that her shy and intimidated teenaged daughter will going to marry a man whom both detest but who will make a good financial "catch". Lady Susan sets her own sights on her sister-in-law's brother, all the while keeping an old affair simmering on the back burner. But people refuse to play the roles they are assigned and her plans spin out of control.
One of Austen's earliest novels, Lady Susan is not only a wonderful character study, but it is the only time that Jane Austen deals with London high society.