In this captivating departure from the acclaimed Lone Wolf detective series, join Joan Thursby, a tenement beauty with dreams of stardom, as she navigates the gritty streets of 1900s New York City. This minor potboiler serves as a precursor to the melodramatic tales that would follow, such as the beloved Stella Dallas a decade later. Packed with the kind of vivid, exuberant prose typical of writers who love their thesauruses, and sprinkled with a touch of humor, this story promises to entertain fans of low-brow literature. - Summary by Matt Pierard