The Secret History is a murder mystery that goes in the reverse order. In the very first chapter, the narrator Richard Papen confesses that he is partly responsible for the death of his college mate Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran. The author does not give away a lot of details initially, but slowly builds up the mystery. Richard talks about his days at Hampden College in New England, where he was a part of a socially isolated group of Classics students. He introduces the readers to the other members, which include the twins Charles and Camilla, Henry Winter, Francis Abernathy, and Edmund Corcoran. Richard and Bunny find out that in the past Henry had once accidently killed a farmer. After having uncovered the truth, Bunny starts to blackmail the others.
