On a winter morning in rural Nova Scotia, Canada, David Kettle discovers an unconscious woman in his garden, suffering from hypothermia. She is rushed to the hospital and placed under the care of Dr. Christina Lavoie Martin. The woman captivates Jean-Marc, a paramedic at the scene, and he later visits her in the hospital.
Local police, Inspector Bevan Delano and Sergeant Madison Martin, delve into the investigation, uncertain if a crime has occurred. Despite following various leads, the woman's identity remains a puzzle. Hospital staff affectionately call her Belle, a name given by Jean-Marc, whose obsessive and sexually threatening attentions raise concerns.
The narrative shifts when a photograph of David Kettle is discovered in a locket around the woman's neck. Initially denying any connection, David becomes increasingly stressed and erratic. His wife, Jennifer, suspicious and angry, believes he has been unfaithful. As David mistakenly lies to the police about his movements, mounting forensic and circumstantial evidence suggests he may have orchestrated a meeting with the woman and had a motive to harm her. Finally, the police arrest him and put him on trial.
The trial reveals that two years prior, David had an online relationship with a woman known only as Sunshine. Anxious that his wife might find out, he ended their online contact without giving her an explanation. Sunshine is heartbroken when he suddenly vanishes and stops replying to her emails, so she makes arrangements to track him down.
As David's mental state deteriorates and his wife leaves him, he loses his job. Despite the accumulating evidence, doubts about David's guilt emerge. When Sunshine's identity is disclosed in court, Pearl, David's teenage daughter, confesses to deleting evidence to protect her father. Can she save her father and clear his name?