1787, Kent. Captain Edward Brazier is devastated to find Betsey, the woman he wants to marry, imprisoned in her own home by her brother, Henry Tulkington, and trapped in an illegal marriage. With Brazier suspected of acting as a spy for a prime minister seeking to halt smuggling activity on the coast, while still posing a threat to Betsey's increasingly deranged brother, he is walking a fine line with danger. But Tulkington's arrogance is making him enemies, even in his own family. With his actions becoming increasingly violent towards everyone who thinks to defy him, Brazier must ally himself to the darker denizens of Deal, to construct an alliance which will see his lady freed.