Mayhew meets Christine Moffat who has letters that Romaine has written proving that she went to the Cross Keys hotel at Blackfriars to meet Max, Christine's ex-lover.

Romaine, whose testimony was Leonard's one hope to save him from the gallows, has turned on him, leaving Mayhew's case hopeless and Leonard's fatal verdict imminent.

Nonetheless Mayhew's firm belief in Leonard's innocence spurs him on, with a steely conviction.

Mayhew desperately tries to discredit Romaine and even to lay the blame on Emily's obsessive housekeeper Janet, whose word is the bulwark of evidence keeping Leonard behind bars. His efforts stall, leaving Mayhew on the verge of defeat…

But there is another, shadowy player in this vicious game - one who turns the entire case on its head and changes both his and Leonard's life forever.

1920s London. A murder, brutal and bloodthirsty, has stained the plush carpets of a handsome London townhouse - the victim is the beautiful widow Emily French.

All evidence points to Leonard, a dashing young chancer who seduced the older woman into leaving him her vast fortune before ruthlessly taking her life. At least, this is the story that Emily's distraught, devoted housekeeper Janet stands by in court.

Mayhew, a penniless solicitor, is put in charge of Leonard's case. Initially treating the suspect with indifference, Mayhew is gradually moved by the young man's case. Leonard is certain that his innocence can be proved by his wife, the enigmatic chorus girl Romaine. The entire case rests on her alibi, and Mayhew is reassured to learn that she witnessed Leonard return at 9.30pm, the time when he supposedly murdered Emily.

Will she testify and save her husband or will his infidelity make her vengeful?