1659: Alone at fifteen years old, Elisabeth Osborne is easy prey as she fancies she can manage on her own in Paris, but a chance meeting with the madam of a gentlemen's club changes her mind. It is here she receives protection, the sort of education not taught in convents, and, just as important, the freedom to practice her skill with herbal remedies without fear.



But it isn't only her unusual knowledge of plants and the workings of the body which might land her in danger. In times of stress, she is capable of extraordinary feats which she cannot always control and which she struggles to keep secret.



Blessed with good looks, education, and an aristocratic air, it's not long before Elisabeth is pursued and swept up into high society, where she quickly learns that women who wish to be independent need to be clever, for there are few choices open to them in a patriarchal society where the law is very much against them.



Elisabeth doesn't know her mother's English family or who her father is—and she doesn't know why she's able to see and do things others can't. She sets out to find answers, traveling to Brittany and across to England, where London is gripped by plague and fire.