Dot Allbones had no beauty, and few prospects, but luckily she has one lucrative talent - she can make people laugh. Now the queen of London's music hall stage, Dot feels she's not done badly. She has her audience, her independence, and enough money for champagne: a good life.

Pretty, popular orphan Kate Eddowes was an unlikely childhood friend for Dot. The older girl's beauty was bound to take her places, and sure enough Kate soon left, lured away by love and the prospect of adventure.

A chance encounter on a London street years later makes it clear that Kate's life has not gone according to plan. Though poor and alone, she retains her indomitable spirit. But this is Whitechapel in 1888, and the shadowy streets are no place for a desperate woman to wander . . .