Miss Emily "Fido" Faithfull is a "woman of business" and a spinster pioneer of the British women's movement, independent of mind but naively trusting of heart. Distracted from her beloved cause by the sudden return of her once-dear friend, the unhappily wed Helen Codrington, Fido is swept up in the intimate details of Helen's failing marriage to the stodgy Admiral Harry Codrington. What begins as a loyal effort to help a friend explodes into a courtroom drama more sensational than any Hollywood tabloid could invent--with stained clothing, accusations of adultery, counterclaims of rape and a mysterious letter that could destroy more than one life.