An early novel by Collins, set in contemporary Victorian London. Basil, the younger son of a proud and wealthy family, becomes infatuated with a linen draper's daughter, Margaret Sherwin, and enters into an unusual secret marriage arrangement with her. The story follows his passion, the conflict between social rank and private feeling, and the troubles that grow from concealment. Dark and emotional, it was thought shocking in its day, and it points forward to the plots of suspense that Collins would later perfect.