Plot

Twenty years after the murder of Alice Barlow, her house is finally occupied again. However, the husband from the couple who has moved in has a secret that he will do anything to keep hidden.

In Victorian London, all the talk in one specific neighborhood is that someone has finally moved into 12 Pimlico Square, the house having sat empty for years as the previous owner, Alice Barlow, was murdered there, her valuable rubies thought to be stolen in the process, this information of which the new owners, newlyweds Paul and Bella Mallen, may or may not be aware. Bella's delicate constitution takes a turn for the worse after moving in: she keeps forgetting and misplacing things and thinking she hears noises coming from the closed-off upper floors of the house, and seeing the lights flicker when nobody else is in the house--flickers should only occur when other lights are turned on and off in the house in the gas to the lights being dispersed. Paul's love for her crosses that fine line into hate in dealing with Bella's worsening mental health; he isolates her in the house, not wanting her to cause public embarrassment. Paul's harsh treatment exacerbates the situation as Bella teeters on the brink of madness. However, B.G. Rough, the livery stable owner who was once a police constable who worked on the Barlow case, believes Paul Mallen not the person he says he is and is really someone indirectly associated to the Barlow case. With help from Bella's cousin Vincent Ullswater, who has always been at odds with Paul, who has refused to let him see Bella without his knowledge, Rough may uncover what is happening behind the locked doors of 12 Pimlico Square. Will he be too late to save Bella's sanity--or her life?—Huggo

Twenty years ago, old Mrs. Barlow was killed in her home at 12 Pimlico Square for her priceless rubies. The murderer searched the whole house without finding them, then disappeared. The house has been empty since then, but now Paul and Bella Mallen move into the apartment. Bella suffers from forgetfulness and nervousness--at least that is what her husband tells her. An elderly horse wrangler, B.G. Rough, worked as a policeman twenty years ago and still remembers the unsolved case. He notices that Mr. Mallen looks just like Louis Bauer, Mrs. Barlow's nephew. And why does Mr. Mallen mysteriously leave every night just to go into the apartment next door, no. 14?—Mattias Thuresson

In London, at 12 Pimlico Square, the ancient lady Alice Barlow (Marie Wright) is brutally killed and her famous rubies go missing. Because of the murder, the house stays empty for 20 years, when Paul Mallen (Anton Walbrook) and his sick wife Bella (Diana Wynyard) move into the place. Bella apparently had a nervous breakdown, having problems with her memory and becoming kleptomaniac. When retired policeman B.G. Rough (Frank Pettingell) sees Paul Mallen on the street, he immediately recognizes him as being Louis Bauer, the nephew--and killer--of Alice Barlow. He decides to find evidence to prove that Paul and Louis are the same man, while Bella is being driven mad and menaced of being interned in an asylum by her husband.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil