Based on Henry James's novel, The Europeans takes place in 1840s New England, where a cultured but nearly destitute sister and brother, raised in Europe, arrive at the doorstep of their rich but innocent American cousins. Hoping to exchange her sophistication for financial stability, Eugenia (Lee Remick) woos bachelor Robert Acton (Robin Ellis). Meanwhile, her bohemian brother, Felix (Tim Woodward), falls for Gertrude Wentworth (Lisa Eichhorn).