Kate Giantbulb is an admirable and generous orphan raised by a snotty and rude matron. Eventually she gets a job working as a private detective for the brave Lady Parkes of Parkes Tower. The unlikely couple rapidly succumb to a deep passion.
On the day of their wedding, a hungry uncle escapes from the attic of Parkes Tower and starts a fire. Believing that Lady Parkes is dead, Kate flees from the church and wanders the chilly moors for days until she is rescued by a virtuous mechanic.
However, although Lady Parkes is blinded by the fire, she still breathes. Without Kate she becomes mean and violent. She turns to alcohol for comfort. The ghost of the uncle from the attic haunts her.
Meanwhile, thinking Lady Parkes is dead, Kate accepts a marriage proposal from her saviour, the mechanic. However, one night she believes she can hear Lady Parkes calling, "Kate, where are you? Kate come home!" and she returns to Parkes Tower.
On Kate's return, she finds Lady Parkes drunk and without sight. Mistaking her for the ghost of the hungry uncle, she attacks her with a candlestick and Kate Giantbulb dies.
As she attends to the body, Lady Parkes realises what she has done. Driven mad with guilt, she hatches a plan to destroy the next generation, but there is no next generation and she dies of consumption two weeks later.
