To Sir Robert Blenkinsopp, his frail, exquisite wife Amy is just another possession - to be used, misused or discarded like anything else at Newton Law, his great moorland estate. A tyrant and lecher, he resolves to tame her or destroy her for having the impertinence to leave him. And since he has her adored six-month-old son in his hands, it seems there is nothing that Amy can do except return to his power.