My Cousin Rachel

Plots: A young Englishman plots revenge against his late cousin’s mysterious, beautiful wife, believing her responsible for his death. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. Philip, an orphan, was taken in and brought up by his cousin Ambrose, a Devon landowner he loves like a father. At a time, Ambrose, who has been advised by his physician a warmer climate, leaves for Tuscany. There he meets and marry Rachel, a half-Italian cousin of his. After an idyllic outset, the situation deteriorates. Shortly before his death, Ambrose manages to alert Philip: his wife is killing him slowly. Willing to sort out the truth, Philip goes to Ambrose’s place but he does not find Rachel, who has gone away. Instead he meets Rainaldi, her friend and lawyer, who does not inspire him with confidence. He returns to his estate, persuaded that Rachel is evil and is the direct cause of Ambrose’s death. Some time later, Rachel announces her coming. Determined to welcome her coolly, he is stunned to discover a woman not only beautiful but elegant, intelligent and sensitive. Instead of strangling her like he said he would, he falls in love. Madly. Ushered into an entirely male domain by the compassionate relative, Cousin Ambrose, the orphaned Philip Ashley is taken in and brought up as a true son on his guardian’s estate in the rugged and wind-swept Cornwall. However, the father and son bond will shatter when the adoptive cousin who has found love and the woman of his dreams in sun-drenched Florence, dies unexpectedly, leaving Philip, who is now nearing 25, devoured by grief and a sickening suspicion of foul play. As a result, the young heir prepares to confront his protector’s widow, nevertheless, utterly unprepared for the sophisticated and elegantly enigmatic woman who sweeps into his life and the family’s manor. Now powerless, much to his surprise, Philip is entranced by her beguiling charm, ready to offer her the world, but is it love, wealth or freedom the beauteous Cousin Rachel yearns for?