Nocturne

Nocturne is a dreamlike historical fantasy set in 1930s Chicago. Grace has wanted to be a ballerina ever since she first looked through the windows of the Near North Ballet company as a child. To an immigrant child of the working poor, the elegance of the dance seemed to lift life above the ordinary. When she is orphaned, the ballet is where she runs.

Years later, Grace is close to becoming the company's new prima ballerina. She is starting to understand, though, that reaching her long-held dream may not feel like the triumph she once imagined. Then the enigmatic Master La Rosa takes an interest in her, and she begins to sense that the world may be larger and less confining than she had feared.

Who is this mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace works her way toward his secrets, she finds that there may be a very different route to the transcendence she has always been looking for. She is pulled between her ambitions and her desires.