Juliet Miller lives an outwardly comfortable life with her barrister husband Joe and thirteen-year-old daughter Ella. But Joe regularly subjects Juliet to sexual violence and one night she stabs him, calmly phoning the ambulance to say "He's hurt" and walking away. Police, led by DCI Faber, investigate and initially believe Ella to be the attacker until Juliet arrives at the hospital in hysterics and is arrested. Sensible DS Flo Sexton interviews her with supportive lawyer Jacqueline 'Jack' Woolf and she confesses. Jack, however, suspects that her husband has raped ...

Remanded in prison Juliet tells Jack that she was on anti-depressants but stopped them unbeknown to her controlling husband. She is pregnant. Ella is fostered with the Roses, parents of a school friend and social worker Norma Fredericks wonders if the placement should not be long-term,due to Juliet's 'violence'. Ella visits Juliet, to be told,"I did it for you" but rejects her mother. Joe dies, making the charge murder.

Juliet has a baby girl. Jack and colleague Alice tell her the outcome of the trial will determine whether she can keep her. Flo questions Ella with her Inspector husband Chris, whom Flo accuses of grooming Ella to be hostile to her mother. Joe's clerk Saul tells Faber Joe was a saint, but Mrs.Rose believes Juliet was dominated by him and recalls miscalled phone messages from her on the night of the stabbing. Then Juliet's cell-mate Angela kills herself.

With the trial a week away Alice tells Jack the defence case is weak. After a visit from Ella to see the new baby, Juliet finally admits to Jack about her husband's control and abuse and says she will tell the court, for Ella's sake.Jack also hopes to use Joe's possible involvement with a drug pusher, though Chris Sexton disproves this to his own satisfaction. His wife and Faber, however, are more sympathetic to Juliet and Mrs. Rose thinks Joe was too good to be true. The trial begins and Ella convinces the jury that she worked with her father only to help her mother,...

Juliet eventually takes the stand and starts to be more forthcoming. She points out that whilst her second pregnancy was not the result of a rape Joe had sexual demands and would bully her into intercourse, punishing her if she refused. She had the knife under the pillow for her own protection but did not intend to murder him. Thus she is presented with pleading to the lesser charge of manslaughter and the episode ends on the verdict and Juliet's consequent sentence.