Famed English playwright and novelist John Galworthy, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932, first gained critical and popular acclaim for a series of novels and short stories called The Forsyte Saga, which followed multiple generations of a nouveau riche family of aristocrats. Fraternity focuses on the intricate dynamics of family relationships and romantic entanglements, rendered in Galsworthy's inimitably nuanced style.

Captain Flower, an ardent admirer of the fairer sex, takes full advantage of his sea travels around the world, wooing women wherever he goes. But his philandering ways finally catch up with him, and Flower finds himself forced to take a drastic step.