On the day of her twenty first birthday ball, Lady Windermere is presented with both a beautiful fan from her husband, and a shocking suspicion that he is having an affair with a mysterious older woman. After a series of adulterous rumours are unveiled, she discovers that Lord Windermere has been secretly siphoning money into the account of one Mrs Erlynne, a woman who has set the tongues of London's elite wagging. To add insult to injury, Lord Windermere insists that Mrs Erlynne be invited to Lady Windermere's birthday ball and treated as a special guest.