For twenty-six years Richard Feeney's family believed him to be dead. Now he is back — and his day of reckoning is just around the corner.
Supposedly dying a hero's death in a tragic fire in 1874, Dickie Feeney secretly escaped the flames and fled to America, where he prospered. Now, as the life of his beloved father fades, the prodigal son returns. Recriminations are forgotten as the family unites in grief. But the past has a way of catching up. Dickie has left behind a trail of chaos, and his long-suffering wife and family are burdened with the consequences. When the Yorkshire Insurance Company learn that Dickie has come back from the dead, he is faced with a trial and possible imprisonment. Meanwhile, the police reopen their files on an unsolved double murder ...