One day, Shirley Weeks' secret fiance, Guy Lamb, stepped off a plane at Heathrow airport and disappeared. For eighteen years she has kept the flame of love and hope alive. Without word or any sign from him, Shirley continues to work at the decaying mansion of Cartegena, which should have been Guy's inheritance. Shirley feels her life is governed by her own mother and the elderly Mrs Lamb. And then Frank comes into her life, but even he has secrets of his own. What will happen if Guy returns? Or if Frank goes away? This is a powerful and mysterious story of a woman trapped by her past.