After a separation of many years, Emily 'Fido' Faithfull bumps
into her old friend Helen Codrington on the streets of Victorian
London. Much has changed - Helen is more and more unhappy in her
marriage to the older Vice-Admiral Codrington, while Fido has
become a successful woman of business and a pioneer in the
British Women's Movement.
But, for all her independence of mind, Fido is too trusting of
her once-dear companion and finds herself drawn into aiding
Helen's obsessive affair with a young army officer.
Then, when the Vice-Admiral seizes the children and sues for
divorce, the women's friendship unravels amid accusations of
adultery and counter-accusations of cruelty and attempted rape,
as well as a mysterious 'sealed letter' that could destroy more
than one life.