The Incorrigibles : A Novel

1890, San Francisco. Seduced by her employer''s nephew, Annie Gilmurray, an Irish maid, is accused of stealing the ring he promised her. Sentenced to one year in San Quentin, Annie is heartbroken and frightened amongst the inmates of the women''s ward: prostitutes, murderers and pickpockets. But Annie finds beauty and friendship in a brutal place, where the women look out for one another, dreaming of a better life after release. But their world inside San Quentin''s walls is a dangerous one, and when the unthinkable happens, Annie makes a choice that will alter the course of her future forever. 1972, San Francisco. Aspiring photographer Judy Morelli is grappling with the searing betrayal of her husband''s infidelity, subletting a San Francisco apartment while she pieces her life back together. When Judy discovers Annie''s mug shot, she becomes fascinated, and invested not just in Annie''s fate, but also in the history of her gentrifying South of Market Street neighbourhood, joining the fight against redevelopment to maintain its rich community. Exploring the different ways in which we are imprisoned, and how we can break free, The Incorrigibles is a story of women reaching across the barriers of time, the unbreakable bonds of female friendship, and the forgotten histories of those pushed to society''s margins.