In 1913 suffragette Ameline Stroud-Sinclair and her husband disappear from their South London home under mysterious circumstances. The scene shifts to 1958, where Barney Carmichael, a former juggler turned private detective, is hired by Ameline's sister to find her.
As the story unfolds between the two decades, we follow the fortunes of an unprincipled parlor maid, an unemployed alcoholic cook and a mysterious gentleman known only as Bob, all of whom are in some way linked to Ameline's fate. Added into the mix is the ex-juggler's schizophrenic, knife-wielding wife, but what part does she play in Ameline's story?
