IN THE DEPTHS OF A NINETEENTH-CENTURY WINTER, A LITTLE GIRL IS ABANDONED IN THE NARROW STREETS OF LONDON. ADOPTED BY A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER, SHE BECOMES IN TURN A THIEF, A FRIEND, A MUSE, AND A LOVER. THEN, IN THE SUMMER OF 1862, SHORTLY AFTER HER EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY, SHE RETREATS WITH A GROUP OF ARTISTS TO A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE ON A QUIET BEND OF THE UPPER THAMES . . . TENSIONS SIMMER AND ONE HOT AFTERNOON A GUN-SHOT RINGS OUT.