Book excerpt: For Mirielle West, a 1920's socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home in Carville is an unimaginable fall from the star-studded parties of Hollywood's Golden Age. Diagnosed by leprosy, at first she hopes her exile will be brief. But those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients: the disease has no cure. Mirielle must find community and purpose while struggling to redefine her self-worth, despite the isolation, stigma, experimental treatments, and disparate community. -- adapted from back cover