Philip Ashley had lost his parents, and his cousin Ambrose took all the responsibilities of Philip’s upbringing on himself. These two people became more than close relatives, and their relationship resembles a father-son kind of relationship. Ambrose and Philip are also united by a boundless love for the Cornwall estate, in which they live. Their life in here is quite and simple, but the usual course of events is disrupted by Ambrose’s departure to Florence. His health requires certain climate conditions, so he leaves for Italy for the purpose of treatment.
There he meets Rachel, who is their distant relative. Soon Philip learns from Ambrose’s letters that they have got married. But with the course of time Ambrose’s letters became more and more strange, and finally Philip receives a letter in which Ambrose asks him to come immediately. Unfortunately, when Philip arrives to Florence the servants on Rachel’s villa inform him that Amdrose has died few weeks ago and Mrs. Ashley also has left. Philip returns to England miserable and wretched. The estate and all Ambrose’s possessions pass to Philip, and Ambrose had left nothing to his wife.
Soon Philip receives a letter which informs that Rachel has arrived to England and wants to pass Ambrose’s personal things to Philip. Philip experiences feeling of hatred towards Rachel, as the circumstances of the death of his cousin seem to Philip extremely suspicious, but nevertheless he let Rachel stay in his house. With the course of time Philip falls in love with his cousin Rachel.
The fact that Ambrose had left nothing to his wife, Philip finds unfair, and decides to pass all Amrbose’s property to Rachel. On his birthday, when he turns twenty-five years old, Philip informs Rachel that Cornwall estate, all the money, family jewellery and everything he has received after Ambrose’s death is now hers. The wave of tenderness overfills Rachel when she hears the news, and she spends the night with Philip. This night is special for Philip, and he is sure that Rachel has agreed to become his wife.
In few days, when Philip informs everyone at the dinner that he and Rachel are going to marry, she becomes very angry with him, and later tells him that he must have misunderstood something. Miserable and unhappy Philip goes walking and gets under a rainstorm, after which he lies down with a severe fever. Few weeks pass before he gets better.
When Philip finally recovers he finds out that Rachel is going to leave for Italy. With everyday Philip becomes more and more confident that Ambrose’s death was not accidental, and that Rachel with her friend and attorney Rainaldi, stand behind this death. One day Philip finds in Rachel’s room an envelope with seeds of a poisonous plant, and his suspicions become stronger.
But the truth is never revealed because of the Rachel’s accidental death. She falls over the bridge, which was not set because of the building. With each turn of the plot, the reader is increasingly lost in guessing who is in front of him: a victim of unfair suspicions or a prudent intriguer and killer.
