In the mid-1840s, potato blight ruined the crops of impoverished farmers across Ireland. Many families went hungry. As the government struggled to address the problem, disease struck down people weakened by starvation. Would the country ever recover?

"Thirteen-year-old Jess and her mother make a living as sham spiritualists--until they discover that Jess is a mesmerist and that she really can talk to the dead. Soon she is plunged into the dark world of Victorian London's supernatural underbelly and learns that the city is under attack by ghouls, monsters, and spirit summoners"--