At the age of fifteen, Katherine Widcombe, the niece of a baronet, is found missing from her bed whilst visiting her maternal aunt in Bristol. She is returned to her aunt and uncle's home, Widcombe Hall, blindfolded and with the weight of a terrible secret on her young shoulders. Six years later, she is invited to spend Christmas with her cousin, Philippa and her new husband Conrad, Earl of Croston. She is horrified when Conrad confesses his love...