Two girls in 19th-century rural France. Annette works below stairs. Hélène is a daughter of the house. As children on the mean streets of Paris, they went through more together than anyone must ever guess and they share a secret to be kept at all costs. Now Hélène is in love with a man she cannot marry. And must marry a man she cannot love. A man she is beginning to suspect is both cruel and dangerous...'Truly captivating' Woman & Home