In New Orleans, the lives of three women from different backgrounds and times intersect as they face a turning point in their lives. Ellen, a veterinarian at the New Orleans zoo, is trying to contain a crisis that threatens the zoo’s animal population. At the same time, she must come to terms with her crumbling marriage. Alongside her works an enigmatic and disturbed young woman, Camille, whose terrifying fantasies threaten to overwhelm her. Finally there is Elisabeth, “The Catwoman of St. Francisville,” who was hanged in 1845 for murdering her bullying husband in horrific circumstances. The three stories converge, revealing the tenuous border between human nature and what we are pleased to call “the wild.”
Author of The Ghost of the Mary Celeste
