Winterbourne was a young American who had lived in Europe for quite a while. He spent a great deal of time at Vevey, which
was a favorite spot of his aunt, Mrs. Costello. One day, while he was loitering outside the hotel, he was attracted by a young woman who appeared to be related to Randolph Miller, a young American boy with whom he had been talking. After a while, the young woman exchanged a few words with him. Her name was
Daisy Miller. The boy was her brother, and they were in Vevey with their mother. They came from Schenectady,
Winterbourne learned, and they intended to go next to Italy. Randolph insisted that he wanted to go home. Winterbourne learned that Daisy hoped to visit the Castle of Chillon. He promised to take her there, for he was quite familiar with the old castle.
Winterbourne asked his aunt, Mrs. Costello, to meet Daisy. Mrs. Costello, however, would not agree because she thought the Millers were common. That evening, Daisy and Winterbourne planned to go out on the lake, much to the horror of Eugenio, the Millers’ traveling companion, who was more like a member of the family than a courier. At the last moment, Daisy changed her mind about the night excursion. A few days later, Winterbourne and Daisy visited the Castle of Chillon. The outing confirmed Mrs. Costello’s opinion that Daisy was uncultured and unsophisticated.
Winterbourne made plans to go to Italy. When he arrived, he went directly to the home of Mrs. Walker, an American whom he had met in Geneva. There he met Daisy and Randolph. Daisy reproved him for not having called to see her. Winterbourne replied that she was unkind, as he had just arrived on the train. Daisy asked Mrs. Walker’s permission to bring an Italian friend, Mr. Giovanelli, to a party that Mrs. Walker was about to give. Mrs. Walker agreed. Then Daisy said that she and the Italian were going for a walk. Mrs. Walker was shocked, as young unmarried women did not walk the streets of Rome with Italians. Daisy suggested that there would be no objection if Winterbourne would go with her to the spot where she was to meet the Italian and then walk with them.
Winterbourne and Daisy set out and eventually found Giovanelli. They walked together for a while. Then Mrs. Walker’s carriage drew alongside the strollers. She beckoned to Winterbourne and implored him to persuade Daisy to enter her carriage. She told him that Daisy had been ruining her reputation by such behavior; she had become familiar with Italians and was quite heedless of the scandal she was causing. Mrs. Walker said she would never speak to Winterbourne again if he did not ask Daisy to get into the carriage at once. Daisy, refusing the requests of Mrs. Walker and Winterbourne, continued her walk with the Italian.
Mrs. Walker was determined to snub Daisy at the party. When Winterbourne arrived, Daisy had not made her appearance. Mrs. Miller arrived more than an hour before Daisy appeared with Giovanelli. Mrs. Walker had a moment of weakness and greeted them politely; but, as Daisy came to say goodnight, Mrs. Walker turned her back upon her. From that time on, Daisy and Giovanelli found all doors shut to them. Winterbourne saw her occasionally, but she was always with the Italian. Everyone thought they were having an affair. When Winterbourne asked her if she were engaged, Daisy said that she was not.
One night, despite the danger from malarial fever, Giovanelli took Daisy to the Colosseum. Winterbourne, encountering them in the ancient arena, reproached the Italian for his thoughtlessness. Giovanelli said that Daisy had insisted upon viewing the ruins by moonlight. Within a few days, Daisy was dangerously ill. During her illness, she sent word to Winterbourne that she had never been engaged to Giovanelli. A week later, she was dead.
As they stood beside Daisy’s grave in the Protestant cemetery in Rome, Giovanelli told Winterbourne that Daisy would never have married her Italian suitor, even if she had lived. Then Winterbourne realized that he himself had loved Daisy without knowing his own feelings and that he could have married her had he acted differently. He reasoned, too late, that he had lived in Europe too long and that he had forgotten the freedom of American manners and the complexity of the American character.