In the early 1960's, 16-year-old Jenny Mellor lives with her parents in a London suburb. She is smart, pretty, and working toward her goal of being accepted into Oxford. Her life will take a big turn when she meets David, a man twice her age. Now she must decide if she will pursue an education at Oxford, or if she will choose to learn all that a charismatic, older man can teach her.

"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 --...