Richmond, Virginia. 1925.
Kathleen Young is wealthy, sharp-tongued, and expected to play her part. Her debut season will determine the rest of her life, and every detail-from her gown to her future-has already been decided.
Kathleen is paying attention.
As she moves through drawing rooms, fittings, and carefully managed social rituals, she begins to notice how class, money, and reputation actually operate-and who they protect. When a traveling circus arrives in town, it opens a door to a different way of living, and to a connection her family would never approve of.
What follows is not a romance or a crime story, but an origin: the moment a young woman starts to understand leverage, ambition, and the quiet power of choosing for herself.
The Debutante is a Jazz Age historical noir and a standalone prequel novellette to The Queenpin Chronicles, tracing the first crack in the world that shaped Kathleen Young-and the beginning of everything that follows.
