Gerard Roylake returns from Germany on the death of his father to take up his inheritance at Trimley Deen. On his first evening he walks to the nearby River Loke, "the ugliest, muddiest stream in England" which runs at the back of an old mill, inhabited by the miller. The miller has a beautiful daughter, whom Gerard recognises as his childhood friend, Cristel Toller. He also meets a deaf man living at the mill known as the Lodger, who is almost insane with jealousy if any one notices the miller's daughter. As fondness between gerard and Cristel grows, the Lodger's jealousy takes an evil turn and pushes him to take drastic steps. Written late in Wilkie Collins' career, THE GUILTY RIVER (1886) is a masterpiece highlighting the psychological effects of physical handicap and the love of a middle-class man for an intelligent and independent woman from a lower social stratum.
