Excess, fashion, glamor, leisure... the "beautiful era" - and nothing epitomizes the Edwardians more than the manor house, that close knit dichotomy of the master and servant. Fledston Hall is an opulent country manor home, occupied not only by the Carlyles, their visiting guests and extended family, but by their collection of servants as well.

Though whirling and glittering on the outside, with shooting parties, endless balls, cricket matches on the lawn, musical soirees... the foundations that support England's most peaceful period are beginning to rumble.

Even now, at their freest - bicycling and sports being new hobbies - women wear their corsets tighter than ever, yet lobby for their right to vote (much to the amusement of men). New technologies are being created - the automobile, the aeroplane, film and moving pictures, the phonograph - all with the benefit of mass-production. Infidelities are expected of high-class husband and wife; whilst children in poverty are found most often to be employed at home rather than in school.

Yet not everyone travels in the upper circles. The increasingly growing middle class is rising up the ranks, as making money has never been easier. So much so that the age-old peerage looks down their nose at these nouveau riche who aspire to great heights.

In the turn-of-the-century England, the class system is at its most rigid. The backbone of any respectable manor house is its servants - from the esteemed butler who often knows his master better than the master's wife, to the lowly scullery maid, maid to the maids, washing dishes sixteen hours a day. You're expected to know your place and respect the time-honored trench dug between lower and upper -- even when that boundary is broken by your employers.

Will you be in the service of the family, working to better yourself and earn an honest day's wages; or will you be one of those soaring on the top, a slave to splendor and extravagance?