“…it’s a marvellous exercise in the use of language and historical detail, terrifically grounded, very vivid and real-feeling. I am a really big fan of what this author is doing with queer historical writing.”– KJ Charles, author of The Magpie Lord

Oliver Twist meets The Crimson Petal and the White in this devilishly funny, emotionally charged tale of finding a new path in life after a great fall. William Dempsey rose from a life of thieving and prostitution to be the personal plaything of the Marquess of Argyll. Then a betrayal sees him returned to the rough streets of London without patronage, his West End apartment, or a place among the ton.

So on a stormy night, he arrives at a house in Southwark – Marathon Moll’s in the Mint – the bawdyhouse he worked in during his ascent and where he earned the name Blue Billy. Here, amidst the parties and antics at Moll’s, he meets Tom, a quiet, conflicted man, who senses in Billy a kindred soul. The attraction is immediate, and they take the first, tentative steps towards each other.

Then an ambitious young rogue arrives at the house. A man who asks Billy to fulfil the promise of his failed youth – to reclaim the language of his past, even if it costs him his future.