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 fiancé--Freddie Lytton, an up-and-coming Liberal MP--she
works to shut down the area's 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 London's 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--they're both wounded souls. Their love
is impossible and they know it, yet they cling to it desperately.
Lytton, India's fiancé, will stop at nothing to marry India and gain her
family's 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
Sid's 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.
