Set in 1912, in an industrial northern town, the taut and ultimately tragic story centers on the prosperous Birling family. Arthur Birling and his wife Sybil are celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft. But the Birlings' festivities are punctured by a visit from the imposing Inspector Goole, who is investigating the suicide of a former factory worker of Mr. Birling's, Eva Smith. Goole's investigation reveals hidden cruelties lying underneath the Birlings' veneer of hard-won respectability and forces the Birlings to confront the consequences of their thoughtlessness and privilege.