Neville Creed is a bastard, with all that means in nineteenth-century England. He kills people who apply that label to him. In fact, he kills anyone who gets in the way of his plans, no matter when that may occur. Neville is a former Indian Army officer, who deserted just before he was apprehended for theft and murder. His latest plan is to marry the daughter of a wealthy man, Miss Louise Jamison, then do away with both the father and the daughter, thus allowing Creed and his mistress to live a life of great wealth using the dead man's money. All is going well until he impregnates Louise Jamison's cousin. The marriage is called off. He is furious at his exposure and the failure of his plan. he murders his fiance's father, then sets out to murder his former fiance. Only Richard Brightman, a former Indian Army officer and an Inspector at Scotland Yard, who loves Louise Jamison, can stop him."