Bristol in 1787 is booming, from its stinking docks to its elegant new houses. Josiah Cole, a small dockside trader, is prepared to gamble everything to join the big players of the city. But he needs ready cash and a well-connected wife. An arranged marriage to Frances Scott is a mutually convenient solution. Tradingher social contacts for Josiah’s protection, Frances enters the world of the Bristol merchants. Here she discovers her life and fortune are dependent on the respectable” trade of sugar, rum and slavery—and finds herself in an impossible situation as she loses her heart to her Yoruban slave, Mehuru.