When Rose Schirrack makes a bad decision, the consequences leave her unmarried, pregnant, and abandoned in Cincinnati at the turn of the 20th century. Her next decision--to accept a job as the madam of a brothel--starts her down a path destined to be paved with regrets. While learning the ropes of running an upscale bordello, Rose is thrown into a world of hard men, prostitutes, racism, and misogyny. Along the way, she makes another bad choice in men. Betrayed by her lover and a victim of her own avarice, Rose is cast adrift once more. Hoping to escape her past and start a new life, she tries...