In the stultified air of the wealthy European holiday resorts, Americans cling to their old ways and traditions. Daisy Miller, with her outspoken honesty and innocence of mind, is anathema to them. Even to Winterbourne, the young American 'student' whom she meets on the shores of Lake Geneva, she is 'uncultivated' and although captivated by"her, he feels she is a little too forward for polite society.