Soames Forsyte, visiting Washington, D.C., is first presented in Rock Creek Cemetery, absorbed by Saint-Gaudens’ bronze memorial (“Grief”), which catalyses introspection about death, art and his own identity. He recognizes in the grounds a young Englishman, Jon Forsyte, and an American woman; the sight reawakens anxieties about his family’s tangled past, especially the memory of Irene. Apprehensive that Fleur (his daughter) might encounter Jon or Irene and be emotionally disturbed, Soames monitors arrivals at the Hotel Potomac, arranges lunch and opera tickets, and follows Fleur and her husband Michael to the Corcoran Gallery and Mount Vernon to control their movements.

At Mount Vernon he simulates illness to separate Fleur from other visitors, relieved when she tends him. Back at the hotel the recurring musical motif—piano playing—provokes Soames’ fear that Irene may be present; he discovers she is indeed at the piano. Concealed, he scrutinizes her: older yet still enigmatic and compelling. This encounter triggers a rapid, ordered review of their shared history—passion, betrayal, resignation—and forces Soames to confront persistent desire, jealousy, and the passage of time.

Throughout the episodes the narrative juxtaposes American openness with Soames’ preference for privacy, and uses the statue, music and architecture as leitmotifs for grief, memory and possession. The section closes with Soames’ weary resolve to prolong life for future security, soothed finally by Fleur’s care, and lapsing into sleep that momentarily dissolves past and present.