Bath, 1761: When the body of a woman is found in the River Avon, the authorities quickly declare it is merely a nameless pauper who committed suicide. However, maidservant Lizzie Yeo is worried; she hasn't seen her friend, Nancy, for a while. Intent on bettering herself and escaping her past, Lizzie accepts a job as housekeeper for the Reverend Jonathan Harding, a widower with a young son. Harding, too, is concerned about the identity of the dead woman, particularly when news reaches Bath that a local squire's daughter has vanished and the leading lady in a visiting production of MACBETH is missing. While Harding attempts to solve the case with logic, streetwise Lizzie's sharp wits lead her to the truth about the woman in the water, but someone is clearly out to stop her...