A black comedy set in the 1830s, which focusses on Helene, a shipwreck survivor washed ashore near a small English village. There, she is swept off her feet by widowed pastor Edmund and the two soon marry, the puritanical Edmund believing his bride to be untouched by another man. But she has a history, a dark past that she cannot escape.

As Helene moves into Edmund's home, she falls under the watchful eye of housekeeper Dorothy who is more than a little involved in her master's life, and quite obsessed with his dead first wife, Arabelle - to whom Helene simply does not compare. While Helene battles to keep her past a secret, she must navigate Dorothy's devious scheming, her husband's harsh critique and a potential new love interest.

Other characters include Doctor Foggerty and his crippled wife Hester; local gossip Biddy Ritherfoot; frisky couple Annie and Tom, who are staff at Edmund's home; Brother Joseph from the local church; Geoff, a mute shipwreck survivor; and John Whiffin, a mysterious hunchbacked figure from Helene's past.