Publisher's Synopsis
Cumberland, UK,1898. Orphaned farm girl, Bonita Salt longs for a glamorous life away from the drudgery of the pig pens. On the way to the swine market, she meets the elegant and mysterious Violetta de Vere and, lured by promises of luxury and fortune, leaves home to join her new beauty enterprise. Miss V transforms Bonita from plump and slatternly farm girl into a slender, poised lady to serve as inspiration for titled parents that seek to transform their plain, frumpy daughters into "marriageable" young beauties. While visiting her mother's grave, Bonita meets Reverend Jeremy Castleford. Despite his advice to be wary of enterprises based solely on vanity and a near proposal of marriage, Bonita moves to the pretty seaside town of Whitby where she soon discovers the true nature of Miss Violetta's enterprise. Bonita is soon caught up in a web of deceit, fraud, immorality and murder that leads to a catastrophic event and a strange and dangerous journey to uncover the truth about her mentor.
