A cleverly crafted story set in Bright Leaf, NC during the mid-1940's.

Maddie, just fifteen, has lost her father in the war and her mother dumps her off on Aunt Etta, while she goes looking for a sugar daddy. Maddie discovers her strengths during this turmoil in her life. Bright Leaf is tobacco country and Etta is the dressmaker for the town's wealthy wives of the industry. Tagging along with Etta, Maddie gets to see both worlds - the glittery and the gritty - when she visits the tobacco wives and the female cigarette factory workers,

Etta falls ill, leaving Maddie to finish her dress appointments and make the gowns for the town's biggest gala.
Maddie gets to know the women of Bright Leaf and learn their strengths. However, she soon discovers a secret, why the local babies are having health problems - and she struggles to figure out who to trust to get more answers and bring this problem to light.

This story has powerful women leaders and shows their activism, trying to unionize to keep their jobs when the men come back from war. It's a very entertaining story with depth. Very enjoyable read. The author's first book - I'm excited to see what else comes from her.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Post World War II Bright Leaf, North Carolina is a town reaping the rewards of Big Tobacco. Budding seamstress Maddie Sykes has just arrived in town and is awed by the beauty of the homes, the women and the riches available after years of scrimping and saving. As Maddie settles in with her dressmaking aunt, she finds herself in a position to make dresses for some of the wealthiest women in town, the wives of the tobacco executives. Maddie’s dream is threatened when she discovers that the cigarettes everyone is smoking, the cigarettes that are powering the economy of Bright Leaf are potentially dangerous, even lethal. This is a fascinating look at a time when smoking was considered glamorous, even healthy by many

Fascinating novel of the tobacco industry in the south during the much pushed advertising to smoke cigarettes. A young teenage girl goes to stay with her grand aunt to help out with her seamstress business and prepare for the big rollout of a new mint cigarette. What she finds out will change her feelings on the tobacco business for the rest of her life. Definitely will recommend. , Truly amazing to read about the ads that smoking was good for you!