Take My Life

Nicky attends Philippa Shelley's London debut at Covent Garden and, after her successful performance, runs into Elizabeth Rusman backstage. Elizabeth asks for his help and gives him her address, while keeping Nicky's personalised pencil as a keepsake. This encounter plants the seed for the ensuing crisis.

Back home, Nicky and Philippa quarrel over Elizabeth's involvement and Nicky's loyalties. The argument escalates when Philippa throws an object that strikes him on the forehead, prompting him to storm out.

In a courtroom, the prosecutor reveals that Nicky is on trial for Elizabeth's murder that night. A flashback shows the killer setting fire to the body, revealing the crime's mechanism and how the investigation began.

The killer leaves the flat with his face concealed by a handkerchief, leading the police to misinterpret injuries to the forehead. The pencil linked to Nicky is found at the crime scene, and he is taken into custody.

Philippa travels to Holland to visit Elizabeth's mother, hoping to learn more, but progress remains elusive. She also follows leads at an employment agency and among Elizabeth's acquaintances, yet finds no conclusive answers.

Inspector Archer allows Philippa to examine Elizabeth's possessions and copy a bit of the music she played. When Philippa plays the tune at home, she discovers that her nephew already knows it, hinting at a hidden family connection.

Philippa travels to a school in Scotland where a master may be the composer. Headmaster Mr. Fleming recognises her from a newspaper photo, tours the school with her, and she notices that the previous year's group photograph is missing.

While at the school, Philippa realises Fleming is unsettled and later obtains a copy of the missing photograph, which shows Elizabeth in the image. Fleming realises the threat and follows her onto a train, confronting her in her compartment.

In the train compartment, Fleming is confronted, and during an interruption by a man who appears, Fleming confesses to the crime, though it was not premeditated. He reveals that Elizabeth had threatened to divorce him, which would ruin him.

The deaf man leaves the compartment and Fleming destroys the incriminating photograph, then tries to throw Philippa from the train. The deaf man returns in time to intervene, and Fleming jumps to his death.

After the events, Philippa meets Inspector Archer, who introduces her to Detective Sergeant Hawkins—the 'deaf' man who is not deaf at all and actually heard Fleming's confession.