[2][3] While vacationing in Monte Carlo in 1927, Maxim de Winter meets the young and somewhat naive British companion of Mrs. Van Hopper, a typical Ugly American whose bout of influenza frees the girl to spend time with the wealthy widower.

When Mrs. Van Hopper announces plans to return to New York City, Max proposes marriage to the girl and brings her to his Cornwall coast estate, known as Manderley.

His young wife soon learns that Rebecca was the victim of a sailing accident some ten months before, and her battered body was discovered forty miles up the coast and identified by her distraught husband.

The new Mrs. de Winter feels overwhelmed by the vast manor, and Mrs. Danvers does nothing to put her at ease, although she finds a friend in Frank Crawley, who oversees the estate.

Lacking self-confidence, she commits one faux pas after another until she is convinced Max is still deeply in love with his seemingly perfect first wife and now regrets his impetuous decision to marry her.

In the early morning hours after the ball, Mrs. Danvers openly displays her contempt for the second Mrs. de Winter by taking her on a tour of Rebecca's bedroom, which she has maintained as a shrine.

He confesses he never loved Rebecca, revealing she was an evil woman who made a mockery of their marriage by consorting with numerous men of low character in a flat she kept in London and the cottage she maintained on the beach specifically for her many trysts.

Upon returning to Manderley, Max and his wife discover the estate is in flames, the fire set by a vengeful and despairing Mrs. Danvers, who it's fairly clear now was in love with Rebecca.

The serial was filmed on location in Charlestown in Cornwall, the Luton Hoo Estate in Bedfordshire, Montacute House, South Somerset, and Rotherfield Park in Hampshire.