Our Mutual Friend (Book 1) as you haven't seen it before — in a remarkable illustrated edition.

On the dark waters of the Thames, a boat drifts silently beneath the bridges of London. A rugged man watches the currents with practiced eyes, his daughter rowing steadily beside him. Then—a discovery. A body, lifeless and waterlogged, pulled from the depths. But who was he? And why was he meant to die?

So begins Our Mutual Friend, where a fortune built on dust—literally the refuse of the city—sets in motion a tale of deception, ambition, and fate. John Harmon, heir to a vast inheritance, is found drowned before he can claim his fortune. With his apparent death, the money passes to the humble yet kind-hearted Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, who suddenly find themselves catapulted into high society. But not everyone believes Harmon is truly gone.

Meanwhile, in the glittering world of the self-made rich, the Veneerings host lavish dinner parties, their friendships as new and fragile as the furniture in their grand home. Among their guests is Bella Wilfer, the young woman Harmon was meant to marry—a woman torn between her desire for wealth and the unsettling possibility that riches may come at a cost.

As secrets stir in the underbelly of the city, we meet Eugene Wrayburn, a disillusioned lawyer drawn inexplicably toward Lizzie Hexam, the boatman's daughter. But shadowing him is a rival—an envious, dangerous man whose obsession could turn deadly.

With shifting identities, unexpected twists, and Dickens' sharp critique of social ambition, Book the First: The Cup and the Lip sets the stage for a story where fortunes change with the tide, and the past refuses to stay buried.

Who will rise, and who will fall, when wealth, love, and fate collide?