An escapee from an asylum takes refuge in a woman's house; but she has dark secrets of her own.

Alex Forrester, convicted of murdering his wife, fails to gain his release after spending 5 years in a British asylum for the criminally insane. Dr. Mark Fleming informs him of an old law which provides for the reopening of a trial if the prisoner escapes and remains at large for 14 days. Forrester escapes and takes refuge in the home of Molly Thomas, who claims that she is awaiting the return of her husband from a trip to The Hague. Molly tells him of her unhappy marriage, and the two become attracted to each other. In the evening, Forrester discovers a man's body by the mill wheel of Molly's house. After stumbling down a flight of steps, he regains consciousness and finds that the body is missing.—alfiehitchie

Alex Forrester was declared insane and has been housed at Milhampton Asylum outside of London since he was convicted of killing his wife by slitting her throat five years ago, although he has no remembrance of the actual act, both admitting that he loved his wife and blacked-out after seeing her with her slashed throat. Although not from Milhampton, Alex knows much of what goes on in town as there are unobstructed vantage points of the town from the asylum grounds. His psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Fleming who also considers himself his friend, believes that Alex is cured and is planning on recommending to the Asylum's Board that he be released. However, Dr. Fleming's request is denied by the Board for various reasons. Unable to cope on the inside in he believing too that he is not insane, Alex takes advantage of an opportunity to escape. He decides to take refuge at the isolated house of Molly and Evan Thomas - it a converted flour mill with the still working water wheel - as he has always been fascinated with it and knows that Evan would be currently out of town like he regularly is. As such, he has to take Molly hostage. Although initially fearing Alex, Molly slowly begins to have empathy and other feelings for him in her general loneliness. As she too begins to believe that he is not only not insane but a kind man, both her perception of him and his own perception of himself may change when they learn that someone in town has been killed since he escaped, which Alex, in losing grip on reality, truly believes he could have committed.—Huggo