Terence Davies' The House of Mirth is a tragic love story set against a background of wealth and social hypocrisy in turn of the century New York. Lily Bart is a ravishing socialite at the height of her success who quickly discovers the precariousness of her position when her beauty and charm start attracting unwelcome interest and jealousy. Torn between her heart and her head, Lilly always seems to do the right thing at the wrong time. She seeks a wealthy husband and in trying to conform to social expectations, she misses her chance for real love with Lawrence Selden. 死了才说爱。 故事发生在本世纪初的纽约，一个由男人支配一切的时代，软弱的女人要想拥有财富和地位只能依靠她的男人，而个性独立，敢于同社会抗争的女人只会被视为异类。身在上流社会莉莉·巴特小姐清楚的知道这一点，因此她只得将骨子中的叛逆深深的掩藏起来，以痛苦的假面示人。处世的精明圆滑使她活跃在交际场上，并成为众多名流竞相追逐的对象。然而岁月如梭，莉莉知道自己的青春无多，于是未经慎重思考便嫁给了一名富有的商人。她再也不必挖空心思去维护自己的金钱和地位了，但她也因此失去了同样宝贵的爱情……
