Francesca Felizzi, former mistress of the Duke of Ferrara, is now an aspiring courtesan. Astonishingly beautiful and ambitious, she revels in the power she wields over men.

But when she is visited by an inexperienced young man, it becomes horribly clear to Francesca that despite her many admiring patrons, she has never truly been loved. Suddenly, her glittering and sumptuous life becomes a gaudy façade.

And then another unexpected encounter brings with it devastating implications that plunge Francesca and her two young daughters into the sort of danger she has dreaded ever since she began to work the streets all those years ago.

A glorious tale of dangerous love in 16th-century Italy * Sarah Broadhurst, The Bookseller *
A heartwarming story of love and redemption * Historical Novels Review *
This passionate story resounds with historic truth and makes for a vibrant journey around the Naples of the past * Italia *
You'll love this . . . Four stars * Cosmopolitan *

Gabrielle Kimm is the author of His Last Duchess and The Courtesan's Lover. She lives in rural West Sussex, and teaches English part-time at a small performing arts school.