Two years have passed since the dramatic events that unfolded at the opening
of the casino. Bella, Alice, and their staff have just bid farewell to their
last guests of the season and are preparing for the arrival of Bella's father,
George, and sister, Amelia. A new year-round resident has also joined the hotel:
Constance's son, Tommy, who is now living there under the guise of being part of
the Ainsworth family. Billy no longer works at the hotel, having been replaced
by Salvatore, the onetime construction worker to whom Betty is now engaged.
Paola is seeing Salvatore's former colleague, Bruno. Lucian is traveling the
world, and Bella hasn't heard from him in approximately four months. Bella is
now creating her own beauty products, such as lotions, for the guests.
On Rose's birthday, Constance cleans the young woman's tomb, and Bella visits with flowers. Rose's suicide had a profound impact on everyone's lives. Despite finally warming up to Count Albani, Alice hasn't seen him in two years due to her travels back and forth to England for Rose's funeral and other complicating circumstances in both their lives. Bella hasn't seen Cecil for two years either. They have agreed to inform each other in writing if either of them wishes to visit, but Cecil has broken that promise and has arrived at the hotel right before Bella's father and sister are scheduled to arrive.
Cecil is traveling through Italy with Nellie, the young daughter of his American stockbroker, and her cousin, Zelda. He has ulterior motives beyond simply accompanying Nellie to museums. He plans to marry her, which would be beneficial as she is quite wealthy. Nellie is pressuring him to file for divorce from Bella so that they can move forward with their nuptials.
Bella attempts to send Cecil away before her father arrives but fails. To George's admiration, Cecil is now a viscount. The two men met in London, and Cecil is now managing some investments for George. They bond over drinks at the hotel, and George inquires about Bella's plans to return to England and live with her titled husband. However, Bella has no intention of leaving Italy, as Cecil is aware. Nonetheless, she is taken aback by his request for a divorce, which could tarnish her reputation and consequently harm the hotel, especially with Danioni always seeking an opportunity to interfere with her life.
Cecil asks Bella to consider the divorce while he takes a trip to Florence with Nellie. However, Bella insists that he stay at the hotel since her father has already met him. She wouldn't be able to explain his absence. Nellie is upset and pouts, but Cecil promises to rejoin her and Zelda in a week in Rome once everything is resolved.
Bella's estrangement from her sister, Amelia, is even longer than that from her husband. Betty, who worked for George before joining Bella in Italy, is unaware of the reasons for the sisters' estrangement. Bella can't recall the last time she saw Amelia, but Amelia remembers it vividly: the day after Val's funeral, six years ago. Bella apologizes for not writing or visiting, but Amelia understands that the hotel takes priority over everything else for Bella. Amelia informs Bella that her father wants to discuss his textile business with her and instructed Amelia not to mention anything about it.
Bella later advises George to be cautious about trusting Cecil with his money, and George reacts angrily before quickly apologizing.
Bella finds time to sneak into town to visit her lover, the architect Marco, and inform him about Cecil's request for a divorce. However, one of Danioni's thugs follows her, as Danioni was surprised to see Bella in town the other day when she was leaving Marco's home early. However, the thug is spotted by Bella and Marco, and Marco chases him back to Danioni. Marco tells Danioni that he and Bella were discussing additional work on the hotel. Danioni later summons Marco to his office that week, suspecting that he might be working outside his license.
Cecil, Alice, and Amelia have also embarked on a trip to the larger town of Genoa. Cecil needs to call his stockbroker, Nellie's father, to request the sale of one hundred thousand pounds of stock so that he can offer it to Bella as part of the divorce settlement. The stockbroker advises against it, as the American market is fluctuating. (It's 1929, and the Depression is looming, although the characters are unaware of this.)
Alice and Amelia spend their time in Genoa shopping for clothes. Alice is shocked to encounter Count Albani arm-in-arm with another woman. Their encounter is uncomfortable.
Constance is also feeling awkward and reserved when she goes out with Vito, a handsome friend of Bruno's whom Paola has encouraged Constance to see. Betty watches Constance's children while she and Paola spend an afternoon with Vito and Bruno. Vito speaks exceptional English, having wanted to learn chemistry, and the best textbooks were in English. However, Constance declines his offer for another date, until Paola accepts it on her behalf.
Back at the hotel, Alice asks Bella why Cecil has returned. Bella explains his request for a divorce, and Alice becomes upset about the potential scandal it would cause and the damage it could inflict on her reputation.
Cecil returns to the hotel with a gift for Bella: a bottle of perfume she loved from the hotel where they spent their honeymoon decades ago. (He conveniently forgets the fact that he has been staying there with his new lover, Nellie.) He offers the perfume as a sweetener for his request: he needs a signed affidavit from Bella stating that she committed adultery, including a name and date, so that the divorce can proceed. She is furious that he wants her to take the blame and refuses to admit in writing that he has also committed adultery. However, he insists that Nellie's father would not allow her to marry a named adulterer. Bella throws the perfume bottle at him.
Later, Cecil is summoned, or rather, forcefully brought, to visit Danioni. His business partner is now not only a prominent Fascist in town but also the representative of the American mafia in Italy, having taken over from Farrino. He demands a larger share of Cecil's profits from their whiskey importing business with the mafia, threatening him with blackmail using photos of Cecil kissing Nellie. He sends Cecil away with a request for an invitation to the hotel, where they can finalize the details.