Conspiring Black Sheep

Lady Katherine Finch, recent heiress to the Finch Estate is in Chamonix to scatter the ashes of her recently deceased cousin, Nicholas. She is afraid of heights and does not ski, yet she is found unconscious half way down the black run. She wakes up in hospital suffering from retrograde amnesia. She thinks her name is Faye. The previous day, she met Peter Elliott, who trod on her foot and caused her to spill her hot chocolate. He offers to buy her a replacement drink, which she agrees to for the next day. When she doesn’t turn up at the appointed time, Peter goes to the hospital having heard that a young woman has been found. Feeling totally alone in the world, Peter takes care of her. They fall in love, marry and settle down in the Lake District, where Peter practices as a lawyer.

As Faye’s memory returns, she investigates the death of her cousin, Nicky, who died in a drowning accident in Malta, four months after he inherited the title. While on the island, Faye discovers that she has an aunt, Gina, and cousin, George, that none of the family ever spoke about. The arrival of Faye on the island seems to disquiet Gina who, after several failed attempts on Faye’s life, kidnaps her. Peter, while searching for his wife, is held at gunpoint by one of the police officers, who is a cousin of Gina’s dead husband. He leads Peter to Faye, and leaves him with her at the bottom of a well in an abandoned cave system. Peter has managed to inform the police chief, Andrea Farrugia, where he is, and is eventually rescued, along with Faye.

Andrea invites Faye and Peter to his villa in Tuscany where it happens that Gina also has a villa. Andrea takes Peter and Faye to Gina’s villa on the pretence of being an estate agent showing his clients around. While at the villa, Faye finds her missing bag which contains her passport and other personal items.

While in England, Faye discovers that her house has been put up for sale, she presumes, by George. Meanwhile, Gina has learnt that Faye and Peter have escaped their imprisonment and have returned home. George is despatched by Gina to go and ‘finish the job properly’. When he arrives at the house, worse the wear for drink, he is dismayed to find he cannot gain access to the property and is arrested for attempted burglary. He is released the next morning when it transpires that the estate agent also cannot gain entry.

Faye returns to Tuscany and Peter is discharged from hospital. Andrea takes Faye and Peter on a road trip, to the site where Faye’s parents, aunt and uncle died in a vehicle accident. Peter, who has stayed in the car, while Faye and Andrea have walked down the side of the valley, is taken forcibly by Gina and George. When Faye and Andrea return to the car and find Peter gone, they drive down the road, looking for him. The brakes on the car have been tampered with causing Andrea to crash the vehicle. The media reports, falsely, that they have both died in the accident.

In order to release Peter from his captors, Andrea hatches a plan which involves Faye being caught by George at Gina’s villa. Unknown to George, his conversations with Faye, where he tells her how she ended up on the ski slope, the death of her cousin Nicky and the death of her parents, aunt and uncle, are recorded through the device of a microphone hidden in a brooch that Faye is wearing. Gina, has arranged for a firework display for Andrea, who she has invited to dinner. The fireworks are to disguise the explosion of the pool house, where Faye and Peter are being held, in the final attempt to clear the way for George to inherit the Finch title.