A young woman returns home from a trip abroad, a gift from her novelist stepbrother, only to find he has married in her absence. The beautiful and mysterious bride quickly disrupts the peaceful family estate, claiming the best room in the house and showing a disinterest in her husband's life and work. The stepsister, who has long been in love with him, is heartbroken and immediately suspicious. When a secretive letter arrives for the new wife, it sets off a chain of events that reveals a sordid past involving blackmail, a previous marriage, and a vengeful artist seeking retribution for a family tragedy. The idyllic country home becomes the setting for lies, deceit, and ultimately, murder, forcing everyone to question who the beautiful bride really was-and who wanted her dead.