The main heroines are sisters, Marianne and Elinor Dashwood, who have also a younger sister Margaret and an elder step brother John.
At the beginning of the story Mr. Dashwood dies and Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters have to move from their home which now has become JohnÂŽs property. Their budget is shoestring, so that they settle down in a small cottage in the country where Marianne and Elinor experience their first love and disappointment.
Marianne is guided especially by her feelings and she blames her elder sister Elinor, who has a more rational view of the world, for being cold and reserved. But finally, she finds out that the sense and sensibility are not inevitably separated matters...