A late-night gambling session ends in a bet for Richard Gaunt: can he walk to Oxford by lunchtime the next day? Gaunt sets off, but as the dreaming spires near he's scooped off the roadside. He's taken to a country house and kept hostage by a man who offers him L10,000 to marry Adeena - a beautiful girl kept in the house against her will. After initial suspicion, both realise the other is their only chance of escape, but as they try to outrun the forces of Mr Khan, Gaunt starts to question whether Adeena is the innocent she seems...