Lilian Nattel, the acclaimed author of The River Midnight , masterfully brings to life a vanished world—the lanes boiling with the steam from kettles of laundry, the smokestacks belching coal dust, the chatter of tailors, piemen and thieves. This is where Nehama arrives with her dreams of independence, not realizing the dangers that a girl on her own must face. Tricked into prostitution, she escapes into the alleys of the East End, where bustling market stalls and penny seats at the theater are just a second away from the criminal warrens. In the Jewish ghetto Nehama makes a new life, remembering the lessons of the street to help another runaway, Emilia, pregnant and unwed. But Emilia refuses to live a hard life and, relinquishing her baby to Nehama, she re-creates herself in the chic streets of the West End. With stunningly vivid prose Nattel intertwines the stories of these two women, writing of the chaos of this rich city life, and beautifully rendering the courage of mothers and sisters navigating dangerous realms.