Millard Lacouvy is a short, plain, fiercely independent prodigy in the male world of poker. She learns her craft in Depression-era Vancouver and then graduates to high stakes games on the Canadian Pacific Railway. When the trains fail to satisfy either her ambition or her need for security, she goes to Bugsy Siegelas Las Vegas. There she is haunted by the handsome conman she has known all her life, and learns that love can also be a game of chance. Along the way, Pasold gives us a rich and convincing historical portrait of Vancouver and Vegas in the a40s.