London 1661.  In this era the old belief that twins cannot be sired by one man still prevails, a superstition which automatically makes the mother of Edgar and Emma Torbet an adulteress.  Desperate to protect her children from  their violent father she flees, finally settling in London.

Twenty years later, the twins themselves are caught up in a life of turmoil:  Edgar embarks on an affair with a married woman, and is forced to strike an ominous agreement with her ailing husband, while Emma, who has been declared the bastard, is forced to marry a widowed gentleman farmer.  To her horror Emma discovers he’s not only a penniless gambler, but is also having an affair with his sister-in-law.

In this melancholy tale of heartache and strife, only hope remains – hope and the search for affection.