Epigraph
Time: The present. The action passes on December 7 and 8 at the Cheshires’ country house, in one of the shires.
ACT I SCENE I. The hall; before dinner. SCENE II. The hall; after dinner.
ACT II. Lady Cheshire’s morning room; after breakfast.
ACT III. The smoking-room; tea-time.
A night elapses between Acts I. and II.