A group of Victorian women, shipwrecked on an island in a parallel universe, fight ffor change. Thirty "surplus" mothers from asylums, workhouses, and the streets of Victorian England are shipwrecked on an island in an alternate universe. To survive, they must create a new society amid the lethal black sands and mysterious beasts. How will they shake off the patriarchal chains that bound them and raise their children to be free? How will Betty, who longs to be back under the guidance of her master, survive, as the community evolves? And who is watching them? Told by multiple narrators, the novel imagines an alternative history: one free of patriarchy, which affords the characters a chance to redefine their gender roles and those of their children, whilst speculating on the conditions necessary for them to evolve.