Tilly Ashton, fresh from the country, thought life was going her way when she found employment as a house-maid in one of London's fashionable town houses. She was even more convinced when she met the local police Constable, Thomas Deering. Falling in love with each other they made plans to marry. Then, her life took a drastic turn when the son of the house raped her, leaving her with a child and nowhere to turn. In despair she left the house, and Thomas.While Tilly struggled to make a new life for herself, Thomas vowed hewould not rest until he’d found her and extracted an explanation asto her sudden abandonment of him and their future together.