Ace, King, Knave

London, 1760s. A city whose veneer of genteel civility is cracking from the hypocrisy and violence bubbling underneath - and where two women are about to discover what really lies beneath their own lives.In her cramped rooms, Betsy-Ann shuffles a pack of cards. A gambler, a dealer in gin and stolen goods, and living with a grave robber, she knows there's no honour amongst thieves but desperately wants to make a fresh start. Sophia, sitting in her Bath parlour, is newly married to the charismatic Edward. Shy and demure, she can hardly believe her luck, especially since she is hiding 'a little weakness', one she is determined to conquer. When both women uncover horrifying secrets about the men they thought they knew, their lives interweave through a dramatic series of events. Who will come up trumps?

Ace, King, Knave is a rich and involving novel of deception, power, sex and gambles of many kinds, and an unforgettable portrait of eighteenth-century England, from acclaimed historical novelist Maria McCann.