Although he was overlooked in the early years of his literary career, British novelist George Gissing eventually rose to acclaim, largely on the strength of his unflinching portrayal of the lives of England's less fortunate. Regarded as one of his most accomplished works, The Nether World follows the intertwined fates of three impoverished families, all tied together through central figure Sidney Kirkwood.

In the fictional New England town of Starkfield, an unnamed narrator is forced to stay at the home of Ethan Frome during a winter storm. He relates his encounter with Frome, "the most striking figure in Starkfield, he was but the ruin of a man, with a careless powerful look - in spite of a lameness checking each step like the jerk of a chain". When the beautiful cousin of Frome's bitter wife comes to help with housekeeping, Frome's attraction to