I sat before my tambour hoop but I did not sew. I thought of split lips, flying teeth and red blood on white linen. Born in a Bristol brothel at the end of the eighteenth century, Ruth Webber, her toe upon the scratch, is ready to face all comers. Lady Charlotte Sinclair, scarred with small pox and bullied by her boorish brother, is on the verge of smashing the bonds of convention that have held her for so long. George Bowden, without inheritance or title, is prepared to do whatever it takes to make his way in the world. Let the fight begin . . .