In late seventeenth century London two women, one white, one black, stake everything to prevent a manipulative mogul destroying them. Zenobia, born in poverty, grasps that her only hope of controlling her own life is to capitalise on her looks; Lily, brought to London on a sugar & slave ship as a `toy`, educated alongside her mistress but used by her master, lives as a kept woman. As their story weaves & folds through a murky & merciless London, both find themselves pitted against a ruthless man the world knows as John Crace. London`s rich but festering possibilities as a rapidly-changing multinational city are breathtakingly painted, & pungent milieux ranging from plague pits to prisons to pastry kitchens
- & Pickled Herring Stairs
- are vividly brought to life.