Two women separated by time and place but connected by a mystifying illness. This beautifully written novel will appeal to fans of literary historical fiction. In 1860s London, Arthur sees his wife Emily suddenly struck down by a pain for which she can find no words, forced to endure harmful treatments and reliant on him for guidance. Meanwhile, in contemporary Perth, Alice, a writer, and her older husband, Duncan, find their marriage threatened as Alice investigates the history of hysteria, female sexuality and the treatment of the female body - her own and the bodies of those who came before.