Abandoned by her father and sold into servitude by her mother, Moth, a 12-year-old girl, struggles to stay alive in 1871 Manhattan. Her only chance at survival is working at an "Infant School," a brothel catering to men who pay dearly for virgin girls. But when Moth meets the brothel's physician, Dr. Sadie, she begins to question the sordid world around her. The doctor hopes to protect Moth from falling prey to a terrible myth known as the "virgin cure"-the tragic belief that deflowering a virgin can heal a man's syphilis...a belief that can kill. Ignored by society, unprotected by the law, Moth dreams of a better life. But there's a price to pay for freedom, and no one knows that better than a girl from Gotham's gritty streets.