Louisa Barrett, the headmistress of a prestigious girls school in Buffalo in 1901, is a forward-looking, independent young woman. But the carefully guarded secret of her past - which connects her to the highest echelons of US government - continually underlines the fragility of her position within the city s patriarchal society, and overshadows her relationships with two suitors. Both are involved in the clash between capitalists and conservationists over use of the Niagara Falls to generate electricity, which turns ugly when two key figures in the hydroelectric industry drown in suspicious circumstances. Inexorably, Louisa is drawn into the deadly brew, which comes to a head in startling, dramatic and moving climax. With fascinating period detail and an unerring, richly complex recreation of an entire society, CITY OF LIGHT is a superb, scintillating debut.