Reverend Livingstone’s ministry is to the prostitutes of New York City, but this leads to him being accused of the murder of one of them. He has always kept his daughter well away from anyone connected with his work, and although she loves him dearly, she has felt neglected by being left in the care of successive housekeepers since her mother died. When her father asks her to care for the murdered woman’s toddler, she longs to refuse, but reluctantly, for the sake of the little girl, she agrees to travel to a couple in her fathers network of helpers, who have agreed to shelter her and her ‘daughter’, believing her to be a reformed prostitute. The press are trying to find ‘the Reverend’s’ daughter, not knowing about the toddler’s existence. This fact brings in the other strand of the story. Set in 1838, this is a story of love. The caring love of the couple who have taken Ruth and baby Lily in, the growing love of Ruth for the delightful but demanding child that is supposed to be her own, and the surprising love that Ruth develops for the man she believes to be a journalist bent on exposing her and Lily to public scrutiny and unfounded condemnation. A thoroughly good read.