Maxton Hall: The World Between Us season 1 recap: Everything to know before watching season 2

Amazon Prime Video’s Maxton Hall released its much-anticipated season 2 on November 7, 2025. While viewers are excited to delve into the cinematic universe of the new season of the show, a rundown of everything that happened in season 1 is always helpful to make sure that following the plotline is easy.

In season 1 of Maxton Hall, the story revolves around James, who is rich and entitled, played by Damian Hardung, and Ruby, who is a shy and quiet student on a scholarship, played by Harriet Herbig Matten. Ruby ends up discovering that James’ twin sister is having an affair with a teacher, and James tries to buy her silence, but she refuses his lucrative offer. Ever since then, James has grown extremely suspicious of Ruby and her intentions. 

Both Ruby and James get to know each other in the process of handling this entire mess and eventually fall for each other. However, their relationship becomes difficult. 

Details explored into the plotline and characters of season 1 of Maxton Hall

In season 1 of Amazon Prime Video’s Maxton Hall, James and Ruby end up clashing for the first time after James offers her a significant amount for her silence about the fact that his twin sister was having an affair with a teacher.

Ruby refused James and told him that she did not have any plans of telling anybody, but James was not convinced. At the beginning of the show, in episode 2, James ended up joining Ruby’s gala committee, and that is where both of them slowly became friends.

James also ended up taking her along with him to his family’s fashion archives in London to help her pick out a Victorian-era outfit to wear for the promotional poster of the gala committee. 

They eventually ended up growing closer to each other, but things got complicated when James’s father berated both James as well as Ruby, and she felt bad since James did not stand up for her.  At a party, Ruby fell into the pool, and James jumped in to rescue her since he knew she was afraid of water ever since a water boating accident left her father paralyzed.

James became caring toward her, and both of them hung out inside school as well, which caught the attention of their peers and classmates. Ruby and James shared their first romantic moment at the gala when they kissed each other. However, soon after, James’s father confronted him and threatened him that if he chose not to end up dalliance with Ruby, he would ruin Ruby’s life.

James distanced himself from Ruby without giving her any explanation, which had hurt her. 

During the season of their Oxford University interviews, James got very jealous when he saw that other students were paying more attention to Ruby. In a fit of rage, Ruby ended up calling James a coward in front of everyone and then proceeded to add that he was not better than his father.

After that, she tried to escape to her dorm room, but James followed her, and that is when she confronted him regarding why he had abruptly distanced himself from her. Ruby pushed James to carve out a path for himself, but things got haywire when James found out that his mother had died of a stroke and his father had not informed him.

Season 1 ended on this tragic note, and viewers will be able to follow along the storyline in season 2. 

Stay tuned for more updates.