Lawyer Hugh Gwynne is facing his most difficult court case. His client Tom Deacon is claiming damages for post-traumatic stress after a car accident in which he witnessed the death of his young daughter. It seems certain that Tom will win, but then Hugh receives an anonymous letter which throws him into an impossible dilemma.

For Hugh the dilemma is intensified by the contrast between their lives: Tom tormented by flashbacks, and a broken marriage; Hugh with what he sees as a blessed and rewarding existence.

Then one night Hugh's life changes for ever. His happiness is snatched away, and he, like Tom, must face a lifetime of troubling memories.