Lizzy wasn't looking for anything in particular in the attic - she just needed a break from bickering with her mother. Having always loved the dusty eaves of their home, she thought it the perfect hiding place. But after she unearths her ancestor Elizabeth's diary from an old leather trunk, Lizzy soon discovers that there's more to tackle in her family's hidden corners than she can manage alone... In her detailed diaries, Elizabeth reveals her heartrending story of The Smell of Mud, the seedy underbelly of a woman's life once everything has been stripped away from her. After the brutal murder of her husband and child, Elizabeth is left destitute, devastated and utterly alone in 1880s rural Montana. With few resources and fewer choices, she makes her way to the male dominated mining town of Granite, MT, where she meets a group of similarly downtrodden women. Elizabeth quickly realizes that her empathy makes her uniquely qualified to help these women, and she attempts to forge a communal home for them, a place where they can earn fair wages and recover from their difficult pasts. But living in this house comes at a price: the women in Elizabeth's employ work in the world's oldest profession, side-by-side, servicing the miners. Although her courage is tested daily as she copes with the suppressed memories of her family, dignity compels Elizabeth to seek a brighter future for herself and her brave charges. In the face of self-loathing and bitter shame, the misunderstood madam pens the emotionally-charged stories of the struggles these women are forced to endure. Ultimately, her confidence helps them to learn trust, compassion and respect as the means to heal their wounds.