Molly and Daniel discover an unconscious young woman in snow-covered Central Park. When she wakes, she cannot speak or explain who she is, and the authorities prepare to send her to an asylum rather than investigate how she came to be abandoned.
Molly takes responsibility for identifying the woman and follows clues into Broadway and wealthy Fifth Avenue households. As the victim begins to remember, Molly uncovers a crime that powerful people have tried to erase along with the woman’s identity.
The unidentified woman’s vulnerability reflects the limited options available to people who cannot explain themselves to police or welfare authorities. Molly’s willingness to treat her as a person rather than a problem becomes the starting point for the investigation. The case develops through questions of memory, immigration and institutional power in turn-of-the-century New York.
Jacqueline Winspear
20 books
Joseph O’Connor
7 books