In the bustling city of New Orleans as the 20th century dawns, two women from vastly different worlds intersect amidst the colorful festivities of Mardi Gras. Alice Butterworth, a pregnant seamstress who has recently fled her life in Chicago following the mysterious disappearance of her husband, arrives in the Crescent City seeking both refuge and a livelihood. She finds herself teaching sewing at an orphanage, where circumstances entwine her fate with that of Constance Halstead, a young widow steeped in the woes of her late husband's gambling debts to the nefarious Black Hand gang. As these two resilient women collaborate on a resplendent gown for the Leap Year ball of Les Mysterieuses, the first all-female krewe of Mardi Gras, they find more than a creative outlet: they discover in each other an unwavering ally and a shared quest for independence. Yet the shadows cast by the past loom large, for Constance's burden of secrets and debts is far from lifted. With the exhilarating climax of Mardi Gras approaching, a startling revelation threatens not only their burgeoning bond but their very lives, crafting a tale of intrigue, empowerment, and the transformative friendships that anchor us during life's most tumultuous times.