diff --git a/lib/nconf/stores/file.js b/lib/nconf/stores/file.js
index 0e7bc4e..2af56c8 100644
--- a/lib/nconf/stores/file.js
+++ b/lib/nconf/stores/file.js
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ var File = exports.File = function (options) {
     || 2;
 
   if (this.secure) {
+    this.secure = typeof this.secure === 'string'
+      ? { secret: this.secure }
+      : this.secure;
+
     this.secure.alg = this.secure.alg || 'aes-256-ctr';
     if (this.secure.secretPath) {
       this.secret = fs.readFileSync(this.secure.secretPath, 'utf8');