Philip Ashley receives a letter from Florence from his elder cousin Ambrose - more than a cousin, father, mother, brother, friend - expressing grave suspicions concerning his new wife, Rachel. Philip arrives in Italy to find Ambrose has died suddenly and Rachel gone. He returns to England convinced she was responsible for his death, hoping to inherit his possessions. Philip's Uncle Nicholas Kendall, disbelieves this. When Rachel arrives in England Philip falls in love with her. One small event after another cause a see-saw belief and disbelief. Is Rachel a scheming murderess or a grossly maligned woman? In a tragic ending Philip allows her to go to her death, only to find she may have been innocent after all, and he becomes completely unhinged
