During World War II, Katherine Barrington and her husband Gordon met Nick Knight in London, and they became friends. Gordon was at that time in the RAF, and Katherine with the Red Cross. After the war, they emigrated to Toronto, where Gordon co-founded a business with Jeremy Stanton. However, he was murdered by his business partner, who made the death look like a car accident. After the funeral, Stanton approached Katherine to try to get her to sell her shares in the company to him. Sure that he was responsible for Gordon's death, she refused. He then tried to kill her, also, making it look like suicide.