Summary

Midwife Sarah Brandt braves the dangers of the tenements in nineteenth-century New York to help the impoverished and, with Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy, bring the guilty that prey on them to justice. Now, the latest novel in the Edgar®-nominated series finds Sarah compelled to save an expectant mother from a fate worse than death...

Summoned to an elegant house to deliver a baby, Sarah finds her patient is actually in a brothel. The young woman in labor reveals she is being held against her will and forced to prostitute herself--and that the madam intends to get rid of the baby.

To rescue the new mother and her infant, Sarah secures the assistance of Mrs. Vivian Van Orner, a woman of means known for her charitable work. But their success comes at a high price when Mrs.Van Orner is found murdered.

With Malloy's help, Sarah's investigation uncovers some unpleasant truths about the victim and her charity--as well as the woman and child Sarah risked her own life to save...