Nineteenth-century Bangor, known as the Queen City, is a city of sharp contrasts--from the elegant mansions of Broadway, built from lumber fortunes and bootlegged alcohol money to the poverty-stricken Joppa neighbourhood lined with taverns and frequented by desperate men and "fallen women." To survive, Maude, a headstrong midwife, Fanny, the rags-to-riches housemistress of the infamous Pink Chimneys brothel, and Elizabeth, an orphaned, demure seamstress, must form unlikely alliances and discover the strength to overcome the odds in a culture that tries--and fails--to limit their potential.