Jane Austen and her family are travelling to Lyme Regis when their carriage is overturned. Jane sets out for help and chances upon a dismal manor house whose master, Geoffrey Sidmouth, is brusque to the point of rudeness. When a rescue has been effected, Jane determines to find out more about the secrets he surely conceals.
But gossip is soon forgotten when a man is found hanged on the Cobb. Is his death connected to the trade in contraband goods from France? And what is the true identity of the Reverend, the scoundrel whose smuggling activities continue unchecked? The evidence points to the mysterious Sidmouth himself.
When another suspicious death occurs, Jane is drawn into a perilous scheme to entrap and expose Sidmouth. But she finds herself uncertain of his guilt - and must put her own life at risk to establish the truth . . .
