Matravers is "an Apostle of Aestheticism" with "fixed views of life, down to even it's most trifling details." "A poet, philosopher, and man of fashion" who has "no intimate friends." He writes for the London papers and reviews. One evening he is taken to the theater by a friend to see a "Norwegian" play by Istein, which he savages in his review. However the actress who plays the lead, Berenice, is brilliant, and is the same woman with whom he has been exchanging coy glances in the Park for six months. Slowly Matravers and Berenice grow closer. He writes a play for her which is a huge success. On the cusp of their romance....her past comes to light...

Edward Phillips Oppenheim (22 October 1866 - 3 February 1946) was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers.