From the publisher:

Sophie Fevvers -- the toast of Europe's capitals, courted by the Prince of Wales, painted by Toulouse-Lautrec -- is an aerialiste extraordinaire, star of Colonel Kearney's circus. She is also part woman, part swan. Jack Walser, an American journalist, is on a quest to discover Fevvers's true identity: Is she part swan or all fake? Dazzled by his love for Fevvers, and desperate for the scoop of a lifetime, Walser joins the circus on its tour. The journey takes him -- and the reader -- on an intoxicating trip through turn-of-the-century London, St. Petersburg, and Siberia -- a tour so magial that only Angela Carter could have created it.