There are some facts about the world that only your mother can teach you.

Marguerite had been confined for the sake of her wellbeing. Thats what her mother had said. Marguerite Prigord is locked in the attic of her family home, a towering Chelsea house overlooking the stinking Thames.

For company she has a sewing machine, Mrs Beetons Book of Household Management and a carrion crow who has come to nest in the rafters. Restless, she spends her waning energies on the fascinations of her own body, memorising Mrs Beetons advice and longing for her life outside. Ccile Prigord has confined her daughter Marguerite for her own good.

Ccile is concerned that Marguerites engagement to a much older, near-penniless solicitor, will drag the family name her husbands name, that is into disrepute. And for Ccile, who has worked hard at her own betterment, this simply wont do. Cciles life has taught her that no matter how high a woman climbs she can just as readily fall.

Of course, both have their secrets, intentions and histories to hide. As Marguerites patience turns into rage, the boundaries of her mind and body start to fray. And neither woman can recognise what the other is becoming.