Set in East London in 1865, eighteen-year-old Irene Angel lives with her parents in a tiny room above the shop where her crippled mother sells pickles and sauces. Her charming but feckless father, Billy, gambles away the family's meager earnings, leaving Irene to do all she can to keep them together. When Billy's addiction leads to serious trouble, Irene, who was taught to fear and distrust the police, is forced to collaborate with them to save her father from ruin. However, Billy's errant ways eventually catch up with him, and he is imprisoned in Newgate jail. With her mother away from home, a desperate Irene has no choice but to seek help once more from Inspector Edward Kent—her sworn enemy—as only she can clear her father's name and unite the family.
