"The Salpetriere Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated--these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball--the Madwomen's...

"The lives of two young women collide in a thriller that alternates between the twisting back alleyways of Dickensian London and the cloistered gloom of a Gothic mansion. Raised in a den of petty thieves, or 'fingersmiths, ' plucky orphan Sue Trinder agrees to help a con man known as Gentleman defraud and betray wealthy heiress Maud Lilly. But Sue's plans are turned upside down when she falls in love with Maud. Then the women are separated -- each...