Rose and her mother Julia arrive at the Hotel to evaluate marriage prospects with Lucian, the son of the Hotel’s proprietors. But Lucian’s mother, Bella Ainsworth, has more immediate worries: her most critical guest, Lady Latchmere, is ill; the new help Constance March has yet to arrive; her husband, Cecil, is behaving badly; and she finds herself under threat from a local Fascist politician.

Cecil arranges for a family heirloom to be sent from England for authentication by a guest, Jack Turner, but Bella is horrified when he also invites her blackmailer, Signor Danioni, to tea. Lucian gives Rose a painting lesson with an unfortunate outcome. Danioni pressures Bella to succumb to his blackmail, and she realizes how serious his threats are.

Lucian and his friend, Anish, run into trouble with Danioni’s Blackshirts but are rescued by the charismatic Gianluca. Bella throws a tea party for the locals and Rose lets her hair down with Lucian but disgraces herself in Julia’s eyes. While Bella and Lady Latchmere bond over family tragedy, Cecil and Jack shake on a shady deal for the sale of his family heirloom.

Nish has an epiphany as he and Lucian narrowly escape arrest for political subversion at Danioni’s behest. Constance manages to catch Lucian’s eye during a boat trip. Bella finally stands up to Danioni, who follows through with his threat. Before Cecil can confront Bella, however, the Ainsworth family heirloom goes missing and there is uproar at the hotel.

The police are called in to search for the missing heirloom and suspicion falls on an absent guest and the bellhop, Billy Scanlon, who has also hidden political pamphlets at Nish’s behest. The search culminates in a furious confrontation. Count Albani tries to help Bella resolve her difficulties with Danioni. Cecil confronts Bella over her compromising letter that has fallen into Danioni’s hands.

The mystery of the missing heirloom is resolved, and the police investigation is closed. Cecil makes a surprising discovery about Danioni. Lucian finally acknowledges his true feelings, until a secret from Constance’s past comes to light and he must decide about his engagement to Rose. As proposals are made, and the guests determine their futures, Cecil attempts a reconciliation with Bella.