It has been twelve years since a dark, murderous figure stalked the alleys and courts of Whitechapel. And yet, in the summer of 1900, East London is still poor, still brutal, still a shadow city to its western twin. Among the reformers is an idealistic young woman named India Selwyn-Jones, recently graduated from medical school. With the help of her influential fiancee—Freddie Lytton, an up-and-coming Liberal MP—she works to shut down the areas opium dens that destroy both body and soul. Her selfless activities better her patients lives and bring her immense gratification, but unfortunately, they also bring her into direct conflict with East Londons ruling crime lord—Sid Malone. India is not good for business and at first, Malone wants her out. But against all odds, India and Sid fall in love. Different in nearly every way, they share one thing in common—theyre both wounded souls. Their love is impossible and they know it, yet they cling to it desperately. Lytton, Indias fiancé, will stop at nothing to marry India and gain her familys fortune. Fractious criminal underlings and rivals conspire against Sid. When Sid is finally betrayed by one of his own, he must flee London to save his life. Mistakenly thinking him dead, India, pregnant and desperate, marries Freddie to provide a father for hers and Sids child. India and Sid must each make a terrible sacrifice—a sacrifice that will change them both forever. One that will lead them to other lives, and other places…and perhaps—one distant, bittersweet day—back to each other.

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of The Tea Rose and the children’s book A Northern Light.  She lives in Brooklyn and Tivoli, New York, with her husband and daughter.