It is Dublin, 1850 - Hannah, a devout, 'do-gooding' Quaker, is married to Samuel, a wealthy tea, coffee and sugar importer. They are visited by Sarah Worth, a freed American slave, touring England and, now, Ireland, drumming up anti-slavery sentiment. She is accompanied by Alfred, estranged son of rich Yorkshire steel merchants, who bought Sarah's freedom for $300. As these four very different people interact, each is revealed to be rather less high-minded than they would like to be thought. Alfred seduces Hannah, Sarah admits to using sex to secure her freedom, and Samuel visits the very prostitutes his wife seeks to help..."The Sugar Wife" paints an engrossingly believable portrait of a period when professions of simple virtue frequently masked more colourful complexities. The play was commissioned and developed by the respected Irish theatre company, Rough Magic.