Cambridge University, 1888, the world of Miss Vanessa Duncan, a young schoolmistress, is shattered when a Fellow of Mathematics, Mr. Akers, is found dead with a violent blow to the back of his head. Discussing the murder, she learns of a competition set by the King of Sweden on the "n-body problem", an as yet unsolved puzzle set by Sir Issac Newton. It is thought that Akers has been working towards a solution to win the prestigious prize. As the months pass and the murder is left unsolved, news breaks of the death of another mathematician, Mr. Beddoes. Vanessa's new love Arthur Weatherburn, becomes a prime suspect. Convinced of his innocence, Vanessa sets about trying to prove her case. As the evidence begins to stack up, it becomes a race against time to prove her theory.