There is a scandal in town - the beautiful Lucy Graham, a poor governess, has married the wealthy Sir Audley. But that isn't the end of it. When his nephew, Robert Audley, brings his friend George Talboys to Audley Hall in an attempt to cheer him up after he's found out that his wife has died, he goes missing! Now it's up to Robert to find his friend and uncover his step-aunt's mysterious past. 
 I had to read this book quickly for class. With little time to spare, I ended up having to read the begining and end of each chapter only, just to get the general plot. When I graduated, I sat down with the book and read it through once more, slowly, enjoying it. I'm truly glad I did. 
 It's a fantastic novel with great characterization and a terribly interesting plot. Mostly, I liked the ambiguity. While Robert is posited as being "right" and while he does win in the end, there's a great deal of sympathy for Lucy Graham and her supposed mental illness leaves much to interpretation.