Victoria Crossing

Driven from Ireland during the potato famine, Protestant Victoria MacPherson and Catholic Maeve O Reilly find themselves thrown together aboard a Manhattan-bound ship. After a treacherous journey, they arrive in New York City in 1851, with only a small purse of silver and the promise that Maeve s brother will find them there. But when he doesn t show, the girls are quickly conned out of their savings by a smooth-talking scam artist, leaving the two destitute in the tenements of Lower Manhattan.

As the women work their way from seamstresses earning pennies a day to proprietresses starting their own shop, their success is endangered by the city s corruption and a disgraceful secret that Victoria has been keeping from Maeve. Jealous rivals, religious prejudice, and the shocking revelation of Victoria s shameful past threaten to break their bond and reduce the women to rags. But will their strength, courage, and spirit be enough to help them survive and thrive once again?"