A satirical critique of British bureaucracy and the impossibility of social mobility, Little Dorrit tells the story of kind-hearted Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clennam, both of whom are unaware that their family histories have been fabricated to cover a complex web of secrets and lies. After living with his father in China for twenty years, Arthur returns home to London to inform his mother of his father's death. Before he died, however, his father gave him a mysterious watch. This gift sets in motion revelations and confessions that change both Arthur and Amy's fortunes.