The novel is set in England in the years leading up to World War I and explores the relationships between four central characters: Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen, two sisters, and Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich, two men with whom they become romantically involved.The novel is divided into two parts, and Part I focuses on the developing relationships between the four characters. Ursula and Gudrun are both independent, intellectual women who struggle to find fulfillment in a society that often confines them to traditional gender roles. They are drawn to Birkin and Crich, who are also struggling to find meaning in their lives.