Katharine Hilbery and Mary Dachet are two young women of marriageable age, and although both have prospects, they also have other areas of interest-Katharine is passionate about her intellectual pursuits and Mary works on a campaign for women's suffrage. Both women must learn to balance their expectations for their futures and their prospects for marriage with their own passions and happiness. One of Virginia Woolf's lesser known, earlier novels, Night and Day relies less heavily on the 'stream of consciousness' style that is so distinctive in the author's later novels.