Grace, forced out onto the streets of Toronto by her father to search for work, secures a position as a maid in the Parkinson household. She forms a friendship with another servant, the free-spirited Mary Whitney.
Mary Whitney, pregnant by the elder Parkinson son, dies after a botched abortion. Grace accepts a new position at the Kinnear household in Richmond Hill.
Tensions rise at Richmond Hill, sparked by the surly and rebellious handyman McDermott. Grace realises that the housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, is the mistress of the charming but imperious Kinnear, and is showing all the signs of being pregnant.
Dr. Jordan brings Grace's account to the day of the murder. Although there are gaps in her memory, she describes how McDermott kills Nancy Montgomery and dismembers her body, then shoots Kinnear, presuming that Grace will fall into the role of his accomplice.
