The queen of suspense has drawn another impressive – and this time tragic – psychological story. Hugh Norreys, whose accident left him in a wheelchair, finds himself in the town of St Loo, where the election campaign is at its height. Different social classes meet here, but the local castle and its inhabitants tower over everyone and everything. The youngest of them, Isabella Charteris, awaits the return of Lord Rupert, her childhood sweetheart. A wedding would make them an ideal couple. John Gabriel, the Conservative candidate, Rupert's perfect counterpart, soon enters the local scene. And everyone's life plans start to fall apart...