A sumptuous historical drama set against a luscious backdrop exploring the scandalous love triangle between Victorian art critic John Ruskin, his young bride Effie Gray, and his proť, painter John Everett Millais. After marrying Ruskin, Effie quickly realizes her marriage is a lie when Ruskin refuses to consummate it. Yearning for affection, she soon falls for the charms of the charismatic Millais.

It's 1963, and Alison Wilson returns home to find husband Alexander dead. Soon afterward, a woman arrives at the door, claiming to be Alec's 'real wife.' Alison embarks on a mission of discovery to try and find out who her husband was, but from their wartime romance to a mysterious period in India, it soon becomes clear that Alec died holding his secrets close to his chest.

Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate the gruesome murder of a farmer in a seemingly peaceful country village, but it's his new partner, Sgt. Barbara Havers whom he's finding indecipherable. Havers is as gritty, rumpled, and working-class as the Inspector is refined, well-heeled, and sophisticated. -- Container.