<p>In the home where Arabella was raised it is forbidden to speak her name, and her picture is turned to the wall. But out there in the turbulent America of the 1850s everyone knows her as "Belle Cora," madam of the finest bordello in Gold Rush San Francisco. <br><br>Judges, senators and wealthy businessmen do her bidding; a bitter newspaperman plots her downfall. Merchant's daughter, farm girl, prostitute, mother, madam, killer, preacher’s wife, avenger, savior—she has worn all these masks, played all these roles. There is just one constant in her life; her tireless pursuit of the only man with the power to make her wish she were a better woman.</p>