Nettie Hogan — Known as Lily at the Pearl, the upscale gambling hall and brothel in Never — seems to glide effortlessly through the high-society world of gilded poker tables and expensive perfume. She’s a strikingly beautiful young woman with dark eyes that seem to hold the secrets of the whole town. Beneath her polished exterior, however, lies a heart that yearns for something more than the fleeting touches and whispered promises of men who don’t know her real name.

Though she’s carved out a place for herself in the Pearl’s glittering world, Nettie is no mere object of desire. She’s an artist at her core, with a mind full of stories, poems, and dreams of a love far more real than any she’s experienced. Her passions are hidden behind the mask of Lily, but she carries them with her always: The deep ache for romance, for a connection that isn’t bought or bargained for.

Inez Garcia, known as Flora at the Pearl, is a woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. She’s vivacious, charming, and always the center of attention, whether she’s laughing louder than the rest or dazzling men with a smile that could make them forget their names. With a sharp mind for money and numbers, Inez keeps a careful count of every transaction and every tip, turning small sums into bigger ones with effortless grace.

But behind the facade of a beautiful, ambitious young woman lies a past shrouded in darkness. Inez grew up in a remote village in Mexico, where her family ran a small but thriving herbal remedy business. What most people didn’t know was that her mother — Once a renowned healer — had dabbled in dark magic, performing rituals that drew unwanted attention from both the living and the dead. When Inez was just seventeen, a botched ritual led to the accidental death of a local man. In the chaos that followed, her mother disappeared without a trace, leaving Inez to take the fall for a crime she didn’t commit. Fearing for her life, Inez fled north, leaving behind everything she knew, determined to outrun the dark legacy of her family. Now, in Never, she’s built a new life for herself full of ambition and charm, but the shadows of her past still haunt her, and sometimes, when the wind howls just right, she swears she hears her mother’s voice calling from the darkness.