Rachel Minchin stands in the dock accused of murdering the husband she was preparing to leave. The trial is sensational and public opinion is nearly universally against her. When the jury astonishes the world with a verdict of Not Guilty, Rachel quickly finds herself in need of protection. It comes in the form of a surprising offer of marriage from a mysterious stranger who has sat through every day of her trial. The two travel to Steel's remote country estate, where Rachel accidentally discovers that her second husband's past was somehow intertwined with her first husband's history but how, exactly, and why he determined to marry her, Steel will not say. That is the least of the secrets that comes to light as this entertaining mystery unfolds.