To his Victorian London friends, Stephen Lowry is a heartbroken widower. Only his housemaid Lily knows that far from dying of gastroenteritis his wife was slowly poisoned by her husband - information she is happy to use to improve her position in the household and to make sure she stays close to Stephen. As his own prospects improve with a business partnership and a romance more of his own class, Stephen decides that Lily must go. Unfortunately for him, his first attempt gives her even more of a hold over him.
As a child, Evie lost herself in the myths and legends of the sea while her family collapsed around her. A childhood tragedy and an estrangement from her loved ones means Evie must find her way in the world on her own....now the demons of her past have come to reclaim her.