James Markham's family are shocked when he jilts his fiancée for a woman he met only days earlier and about whom he appears to know very little. When they meet Abigail they are swayed by her beauty and charm, but puzzled by the aura of mystery that surrounds her. Callum Firbank is successful, with a loving family and a comfortable home. But he has always been evasive about his childhood. Jill Irving runs a hotel in Dorset and has everything she could wish for. She also has secrets in her past. What links these three very different people? And who is the mysterious stranger whose appearance in their lives seems to cause such terror?