Eileen Cartwright is a woman who knows how to get what she wants. And she wants her handsome solicitor, despite the fact that he is already married.
She plots the murder of his wife with chilling ease - but chooses an amateur for the job. He is quickly caught, but proving Eileen's involvement is tougher for the police as meticulous planning and influence put her seemingly above the law. Brought together for the first time, Helen West, crown prosecutor, and Geoffrey Bailey, detective superintendent, are faced with this woman's defiant evil. And when she enlists the help of a young psychopath, they are pulled inexorably towards a tense climax of frightening and frenzied violence.