Sisters Ally and May Moberley grow up in Victorian Manchester, surrounded by their father's decadent paintings and dominated by their austere, evangelical mother. While May poses for the artists in her father's circle, Ally devotes herself to her mother's ambitions, working hard to join the first generation of female doctors. But soon bitterness and tragedy divide the family, and Ally leaves home to escape the subtle terrors of her childhood and begin a new life in London.

Bodies of Light is a profound and provocative book about family. It is a gripping story told with rare precision and tenderness.