In the 1830s, socialite Ambrose adopts his cousin Philip when he loses his parents.
Ambrose raises Philip as his own son, ignoring all the advice from friends saying the kid needs
a female presence in his life. The only women allowed in the house are the dogs. Eventually,
Philip leaves to study in the city, but he quickly comes back because he doesn't enjoy books,
he prefers his life at the estate. Sadly, Ambrose grows old and sick,
so the doctor tells him to move somewhere with a sunnier climate for the sake of his health.
Ambrose leaves for Florence and stays in contact with Philip by writing to him,
those letters are shared with Philip's godfather Nick and his daughter Louise. One summer, Philip
receives some very surprising news: Ambrose has begun a romance with their widow cousin Rachel,
which is curious because Ambrose never paid any attention to women before. The following autumn,
Ambrose and Rachel get married. Louise teases Philip, telling him he'll have to find a place
of his own soon, but Philip tries not to worry because Ambrose seems to have forgotten his
estate even exists. However, the next few letters do begin to worry Philip for real now. Ambrose
explains he's writing when he finally manages to be away from Rachel for a few minutes, that
she's always watching him like a hawk, and that Philip is the only one that he can trust anymore.
It turns out Ambrose has been even sicker lately, and he's sure Rachel is the one causing it.
Ambrose also thinks the doctor in charge of him is being paid by Rachel to lie,
especially since he was recommended by Rachel's suspicious friend Enrico. Inside the envelope,
there are words begging Philip to come to rescue Ambrose from his own wife. Philip travels to
Florence but by the time he arrives, it's too late: Ambrose has died. The house is empty and
the only person there is Enrico, whom Philip immediately jumps on to demand information.
Ambrose died of a tumor on his head; doctors said it affected his brain, making him violent
and paranoid. Rachel disappeared the day after the funeral with all of Ambrose's personal belongings,
but she wants the Florence house to be sold. Enrico is Rachel's lawyer, offering Philip a copy
of Ambrose's death certificate and his friendship with the family. However Philip doesn't trust him,
and he swears revenge on Rachel for killing his cousin. Afterward, Philip returns to the estate,
where the employees are already calling him the new master. Nick checks Ambrose's will, which is
still the same one he drew up ten years ago, so there's no provision made for a wife. This means
the entire estate will officially become Philip's on his next birthday. Philip is surprised Ambrose
hasn't put anything under Rachel's name because he's convinced she killed him for it, but Nick
thinks he's imagining things. After talking to the employees and promising things will stay the same,
Philip receives some news from the city: Rachel has arrived in England. He decides to invite her
to stay at his house, but he won't give her Ambrose's room, since that one is his now.
Instead, he fixes an old dirty room for her with the help of Louise, who offers to stay as support.
She obviously has a crush on Philip, and while he may be grateful for her company,
he'd rather tackle this problem alone. The day of Rachel's arrival, Philip goes horseriding to make
her wait for him on purpose, even ordering the servants not to serve her dinner until he returns.
However, when he comes back, he finds out all of Ambrose's belongings have already been sent to
his room, and Rachel has gone to hers with all the dogs, too tired for dinner. She does invite
him to visit after he's done eating though, so he does exactly that. Rachel turns out to be
a beautiful young woman, and she's startled the first time she sees Philip because of how much he
looks like Ambrose. The two begin chatting, and Rachel surprises Philip in many ways: she knows
how to make tea and biscuits, remembers all the stories about the estate that Ambrose told her,
and even makes Philip laugh with a joke. Philip finds himself getting charmed by her kindness,
but when the conversation suddenly gets awkward, Rachel quickly sends him away.
As days pass, Philip and Rachel spend more and more time together, going horseriding and sharing
their care for Ambrose's estate. One morning, after attending mass, they have lunch with
family and friends, where Louise gets jealous of how close Philip and Rachel have become.
Later, Rachel teases him for it, but Philip denies having any interest in Louise,
admitting instead he likes looking at Rachel better. Then, she changes the subject about
her having run out of money and possibly having to teach Italian lessons to bored housewives.
Philip makes a dark joke about widows pawning their wedding rings,
which upsets Rachel and causes her to leave the room. The next day, Philip visits Nick
to ask him to establish a monthly allowance for Rachel because it's what Ambrose would've wanted.
On his way out, Louise tells Philip that Rachel has easily twisted him around her little finger.
When he returns home, he finds Rachel preparing a special tea that doesn't taste very good but it's
good for one's health. However, when she learns Philip has set up an allowance for her, she gets
offended. Rachel thinks this is humiliating and makes her look like she came to beg him for money
when she only wants to be her own person. Philip points out she never begged and as Ambrose's heir,
it's his duty to give her a good life instead of having her step down to teaching.
Later that night, Rachel doesn't dine with Philip, but she does send an apology note. Philip visits
her in her room and she explains she'll accept the allowance, but she'll find her own place to live.
This is unacceptable to Philip, who reminds her she belongs here as Ambrose's wife. Rachel
gives in and accepts to stay for a while, thanking Philip with a quick kiss before sending him away.
Rachel keeps receiving mail from Enrico, which Philip decides to ignore for now.
She also helps the sick employees with her special tea, which inspires Philip to do good too.
During an afternoon spent horseriding, he decides to show Rachel the letter where Ambrose accused
her of being his torment, but then he throws it in the fire. He admits he used to hate Rachel, but
he's learned she isn't the woman he had imagined. Afterward, they finally dare to look through
Ambrose's belongings, considering the option of donating his clothes. But the sight of it is too
much for Rachel to handle, so Philip comforts her through her tears. Wanting Rachel to be happy,
Philip begins preparing a few surprises. He cuts a tree himself to be decorated for Christmas, then
also goes to the bank to retrieve his mother's pearls from the safe, which nobody has worn since
she died. On Christmas Eve, Rachel wears the necklace, and thanks Philip with a proper kiss.
They host a celebration with all the people from the estate, eating, singing, dancing,
and admiring the big tree. Rachel has even brought a gift for every employee. However, not everyone
is happy tonight. After the party is over, Nick brings Philip some worrisome news: Rachel has
already severely overdrawn on her account because she's been sending money out of the country.
Philip refuses to believe foul play and explains it by saying Rachel is generous, so he orders
Nick to increase her allowance. Nick isn't very happy about this and shares more information he's
gathered after asking around: the duel in which Rachel's first husband died was fought over one of
her lovers, because everyone in town knew about her affair since they were very loud at night.
As Philip calls him out for believing gossip, Nick begins scolding him for having taken the necklace,
but their argument is interrupted by Rachel. She gives the pearls back to Nick, expressing
she's honored to have worn them but she doesn't need to keep them if they'll cause such tension
in the family. Philip still thinks everything, including the pearls, belongs to Rachel, so she
explains there's a will that Ambrose never signed. She shows it to Philip, who immediately recognizes
Ambrose's handwriting and wonders why he started to write this only not to sign it. Rachel admits
she had been pregnant but lost the child, and that day, their relationship began to crumble. Ambrose
got sick shortly after, and Rachel felt like she was living with a stranger that hated her and
wanted to hurt her. Feeling pity for her, Philip promises she'll always have a place in the estate.
The next day, Philip brings the will to the bank so he can prepare things for his incoming
birthday. As soon as he can legally dispose of his wealth, Philip wants most of it to go to Rachel.
The banker thinks this is a dangerous and rushed decision, but since Philip won't change his mind,
he at least convinces him to add a clause that states the wealth will go back to Philip if
Rachel remarries. After picking up some flowers, Philip returns home only to find Enrico has come
to visit Rachel. Now Philip must watch them spend time together, chatting in Italian and constantly
touching hands. Rachel notices Philip's jealousy and clarifies Enrico is an old friend so they have
a lot to talk about, but at least he'll be leaving soon. When the new will is ready, Philip picks it
up from the bank together with all of his mother's jewelry. As Philip's guardian, Nick needs to sign
the will as well, and he does so after failing to convince Philip that this is a terrible idea. On
his way home, Philip takes a cliff-side path that crumbles under the horse's hoofs when he rides by,
but fortunately, he holds on to the ground and manages not to fall. Night falls at the estate,
and Philip waits for the clock to strike midnight to climb Rachel's window in order to spend the
first hours of his birthday with her. He gives her an envelope with the will to be read later
and gifts her all the jewelry, convincing her to put on the pearls now. Shily, Philip asks to spend
the night with her, and Rachel accepts. The next day, Philip puts things together for a picnic, but
Rachel has left the estate to visit the city, so he waits for her by the road. When she comes back,
Rachel explains she went to see Nick to get him to explain some of the legal wording on the will,
and he was very gentle with his manners even if she knows he disapproves of her.
Philip takes Rachel to a field of flowers to have that picnic and convinces her to get busy
with him, but Rachel doesn't seem to really be into it and acts distant when they're done.
Later, while getting ready for his birthday dinner, Philip is sent some of Rachel's special
tea, which he drinks with gusto. During the meal, Philip has an awful headache with visions,
but he concentrates on his family to announce he'll be marrying Rachel. However Rachel doesn't
know what he's talking about and feels shame in front of everyone. After Nick and Louise are gone,
Rachel explains to Philip that she only accepted to get busy with him twice to thank him for the
jewelry and the will, not because she returns his feelings. Upset and confused, Philip grabs Rachel
not to let her escape the conversation, first by the arm and then by the neck. This breaks
the pearl necklace, making Philip see sense and let go of her. The next day, Louise sends
Philip a message to meet her in private. She's been worried about him since before Christmas,
so Philip shares what happened: he had thought Rachel returned his feelings, but he was wrong.
Louise points out a curious coincidence: Rachel had been receptive to Philip before she read
the new will, and became distant after Nick explained the special marriage clause to her.
Philip doesn't think that makes sense because even if the estate went back to him by marrying her,
he would share everything with Rachel. But this isn't enough for Louise, who now points out that a
wife can't send money out of the country and must always stay by her husband's side. When he returns
home, Philip finds Rachel with one of her friends, who she has hired as her lady in waiting because
she doesn't feel safe being alone around Philip anymore. That night, Philip passes out in front
of them. He wakes up after five days, still ill with constant headaches, fever, and weird visions.
Rachel sends her friend away and dedicates her time to taking care of Philip, regularly sharing
her herbal tea with him. She also sometimes leaves on a horse, so Philip asks her about
it. While Rachel doesn't say where she goes, she promises she isn't leaving for good anytime
soon. One afternoon, Philip tries to keep himself distracted by looking through Ambrose's books and
finds a note from him saying Rachel is greedily going through all his money at an alarming speed.
When he starts to feel better, Philip decides to secretly follow Rachel to town and finds
her meeting with Enrico, who says hello to her with a quick peck on the lips. Later at home,
Philip confronts Rachel about this, and she admits she's invited Enrico to England because she needed
his advice, but she doesn't clarify what for. The reason why she didn't tell Philip is that she
knows he hates Enrico, and Philip proves her right as he furiously asks her to send Enrico away.
Rachel refuses, saying she has a right to have a life of her own and perhaps even invite Enrico to
stay here, since this is her house after all. Philip becomes violent, so Rachel grabs a fire
poker to keep him away, threatening to call the servants if he tries anything. Rachels has
a breakdown, saying she can't do this again, and Philip hugs her as an apology. Sometime later, one
of the servants brings Philip a note he found in one of Ambrose's coats that were donated to him.
Philip shares it with Louise, who reads aloud Ambrose's theory that Rachel has been poisoning
him with her tea. He admits he's been a fool, but there's nothing he can do except watching
how Rachel becomes the lady of the house, hosting luncheons for family and friends. One afternoon,
Rachel makes tea for Philip and Louise, and makes sure Louise doesn't grab the cup meant for Philip.
Getting suspicious, Philip turns down the tea, saying he isn't in the mood for it.
Then, Rachel announces she'll go riding, and Philip recommends the views of the cliff path
without mentioning the accident he had there. Once Rachel is gone, Philip asks Louise's help
to go through her stuff in order to find clues. They find a note from the bank thanking Rachel
for returning the jewels, which will be kept in the safe until Philip inherits them again.
There's also a letter from Enrico, who advises Rachel not to abandon Philip and perhaps even
bring him to Italy so the weather could help him with his health. At that moment, Louise decides
to share a bit of information she's been hiding: Nick has done some inquiries and it seems Enrico
is gay. Drowning in guilt, Philip rushes out of the house and grabs the first horse he can find,
but by the time he makes it to the cliffside, it's too late: Rachel has fallen and died. Years later,
Philip is married and has two kids with Louise. However Rachel has never left his thoughts,
and he'll forever wonder if she was truly innocent or not as headaches continue to blind him.