When playboy Charles Blakewell is found murdered in the garden house of his parents' mansion, a servant girl with whom he has been having an affair is charged and imprisoned. But Juliana Pyke, crusader for the rights of women, is convinced the girl is innocent. Enlisting Wellington Cotter in her campaign to have the Blakewell case reopened, together they discover evidence of intrigue and conspiracy involving some of Sydney's most respected and wealthy citizens.