Much of what goes on in this short story is filtered through Winterbourne -a milk-soapy type of American hero- who likes the "older" type of woman. Readers meet him first when he is visiting his elderly aunt in her European homes, while carrying on with an older woman in Geneva. Then he meets the spirited Daisy Miller. Daisy is an American girl from Schenectady, trouping about Europe with her permissive mother and a bratty little brother. Of course Winterbourne is smitten by Daisy. A year later they once again meet in Rome. By then Daisy has bloomed into a sensuous, sexy woman who has no qualms about bedding the young men she likes. Her romance with the lawyer Mr. Giovanelli is much talked about in American circles, given Winterbourne much fodder for thought. Is Daisy really a flirt or is it perhaps that he is old fashioned? A long night out with Giovanelli at the Colosseum, causes Daisy's death from Roman fever, perniciosa, or commonly: malaria. In the end we learn that Daisy never cared for Giovanelli, hinting that she really -instead- cared for him, despite all the appearances. The importance of Daisy Miller lies in the fact that the story bears the seeds of all the literary fruits Henry James was to write about in the future: American values, innocence, abrasiveness, erratic sexual behavior, and the odd attitudes they displayed in Europe.