A dazzling novel of celebrity, heartache and falling in love, set against the glamorous backdrop of 1940s London. Growing up under the critical eye of her father and stepmother in the wrong end of a Northern seaside town, Carol Marshall longs for freedom. The picture house is where she goes to dream. For there, she can be someone else for an hour or two; someone carefree; someone special. When the Palais de Dance announces a competition for a local girl to win a part in a film, Carol is persuaded by a friend to enter. To their amazement, it's Carol the judges choose and soon she's whisked away to London and swept up in a new world of glamour and excitement. But all that glitters is not gold. And the journey to stardom is paved with danger, loneliness and vice. Carol is poised to get everything she ever wished for. But at what price...?