Fate is not alone in deciding who lives and who dies after the crash of a train travelling from Kent to London. One passenger uses the opportunity to commit a murder. Another -- the blonde and beautiful Amy Petty -- uses the accident as an opportunity to leave her life behind.... Is it because Amy's husband is currently embroiled in a libel action against a national newspaper? Douglas Petty, a former barrister, is rich, charismatic and evil tempered: he runs a dog sanctuary in a brutally eccentric manner. Amy is his star witness: without her, his reputation faces ruin. Or maybe it isn't the present that Amy is running from. Maybe it is the past.