In the shadowy underworld beneath the glittering fagade of the Hotel Pleiades, a half-crazed woman clings to a wall and her belief that the Virgin Mary's blood is coming out of the cracks. She is just another statistic in Chicago's list of homeless until Starr, magnificent, wanton and fearless, appears by her side. Soon, miracle-seekers are flocking to the area, with a media hungry for trouble close behind.
Caught up in the growing unrest are: Harriet and Mara Stonds, two half-sisters locked in battle - Harriet, ice-cool and brilliant, acting as lawyer for the hotel and Mara, plain and unloved, desperately searching for answers to her past; Luisa Montcrief, an ex-diva, sliding towards alcoholism and madness; and Hector Tammuz, weak but compassionate, an overworked doctor trying to help the homeless women who converge on the wall.
As their lives are touched by the enigmatic Starr, they are forced to come to terms with their deepest fears . . .
