London 1666. Elizabeth 'Bird' Carpenter has a wonderful singing voice, and music is her passion. When her father persuades her to marry horse-dealer Christopher Knepp, she suspects she is marrying beneath her station, but nothing prepares her for the reality of life with Knepp. He is a tyrant and a bully and will allow Bird no life of her own. When Knepp goes away, she makes a secret visit to the theatre. Entranced, she falls in love with the theatre and is determined to forge a path of her own as an actress. But a jealous rival wants to spoil her plans, and worse, Knepp forbids it, and Bird must use all her wit and intelligence to change his mind.

The third in Deborah Swift's atmospheric trilogy, bringing to life the women in Pepys' Diary.

Praise for the Pepys Trilogy: "Pepys and his world spring to vibrant life...Gripping, revealing and stunningly imagined." LANCASHIRE EVENING POST