As a seven-year-old, MadeleineHoullette is forced to escape her violent father in order to save herself. She winds up a street urchin in NewYork's Bowery where Madeleine steals the purse of a stranger walking down Orchard Street. This remarkable act leads to the young woman becoming the toast of the Parisienne salon scene under the tutelage of her savior, Sophie Schulman. While in Paris Madeleine and Sophie become entangled in a struggle between two famous and successful artists who vie for Madeleine's affection. All the while Madeleine's fanatical father stalks her with little affect until coming across a portrait of Madeleine. This discovery leads Preacher Armand Bouchette to Paris and a violent appointment with destiny. You'll love reading The New Paris, the first book in the Houllette Family Saga, which begins in the bayou of Louisiana with a curse placed upon the females of the Houllette line. This brutal act leads to the murder of Madeleine Houllette's mother, Echo, and a series of advetures through a variety of historical times and landscapes.