Note: First published in Household Words, 7-28 April 1855

Synopsis: "Set against the background of the French Revolution, the story concerns Louis Trudaine; his sister, Rose, who contracts an unhappy marriage to the aristocratic Charles Danville; and Danville's land-steward, Lomaque, who is indebted to Trudaine's father. Trudaine fulfils a deathbed promise to his mother to protect Rose and arouses Danville's animosity. Danville denounces Trudaine to the revolutionary authorities, implicating Rose. Through his lies at their trial, both brother and sister are both condemned to the guillotine. Lomaque, who has become a police agent, saves their lives by removing their names from the death list with a chemical formula. Freed by the downfall of Robespierre, the brother and sister confront Danville three years later as he is about to remarry. He is rejected by his mother and killed in a duel. The Trudaines and Lomaque return to the tranquillity of the family home in Rouen." -- Wilkie Collins Information Pages