An Inspector Calls

In 1912, the Birling family sit at a dining table at the end of a dinner party with Gerald Croft, who is engaged to Sheila. The mother chastises Eric for drinking too much, and the father discusses the likelihood of war and a possible knighthood with Gerald over port and cigars.

They are interrupted by a man calling himself Inspector Poole, who is investigating the suicide of Eva Smith, a working-class girl linked to each family member. Eva Smith has poisoned herself, and she left a diary that hints at the connections between the Birling family and her fate.

A flashback shows Eva working in the Birling factory and leading a group of women to demand a pay raise from 22/6 to 25/-. Birling refuses and tells them to find another job, setting in motion Eva's fall from stability.

Back in the Birling house, the father cannot see how Eva's plight connects to him. The inspector explains that after being sacked from Birling's, Eva has a period of unemployment, then goes to work at Milward's, where she is dismissed after two months following a customer's complaint; it becomes clear that this later dismissal implicates Sheila.

In a flashback, Sheila is choosing a hat with her mother when Eva is accused of being rude for smiling while she struggles to fit the hat, and Eva is dismissed. Sheila admits she was jealous of Eva's looks.

The inspector explains that Eva changes her name to Daisy Renton, which shocks Gerald as the truth about his relationship with her begins to emerge.

Gerald confesses to Sheila that he had an affair with Daisy beginning in March 1911. He says he met Daisy at the Palace Variety Show, found her homeless, and lets her use his townhouse and gives her money to survive, keeping the relationship private.

On one of his visits, Daisy realises that Gerald is building up to breaking off their affair, and, to make things easier for him, tells him they should separate as she realises that he only ever felt sorry for her, although she is in love with him. She leaves the flat the next day.

Mrs Birling, as chairwoman of a charity committee, refuses Eva charity on the grounds that Eva is pregnant and claims her husband left her. She accuses Eva of using the Birling name and brushes aside Sheila's attempts to stop her condemnation.

Eric meets Eva on a tram and they have an affair, and Eva becomes pregnant. He steals money to support her, but she refuses it when she realises it is stolen. Eva goes to Mrs Birling but is turned down, adding to the tragedy.

The family members begin to feel partially responsible for Eva's death, yet they struggle with how to prove it or confront it all. They hope to avoid scandal and dismiss the idea that one individual bears sole responsibility.

Gerald phones the infirmary to check if the girl Eva is really dead, and is told no-one has died. The situation feels like a strange scam, and the family contemplates returning to their old lives while Sheila and Eric remain changed by the experience.

Back in the study, Mr Birling discovers the Inspector has disappeared and there is no exit from the room. Then a phone rings: a girl has just died at the infirmary and an inspector is on his way, suggesting the investigation may resume.