Recently jilted and increasingly unhinged, Dr. Voth throws himself into his work, obsessively researching the life of Jack Sheppard, a legendary 18th-century thief. No one knows Jack's true story - his confessions have never been found. That is, until Dr. Voth discovers a mysterious stack of papers titled "Confessions of the Fox".

Dated 1724, the manuscript tells the story of an orphan named P. Sold into servitude at 12, P struggles for years with her desire to live as "Jack". When P falls dizzyingly in love with Bess, a sex worker looking for freedom of her own, P begins to imagine a different life. Bess brings P into the London underworld where scamps and rogues clash with London's newly established police force, queer subcultures thrive, and ominous threats of an oncoming plague abound. At last, P becomes Jack Sheppard, one of the most notorious - and most wanted - thieves in history.

Back in the present, Dr. Voth works feverishly day and night to authenticate the manuscript. But he's not the only one who wants Jack's story - and some people will do whatever it takes to get it. As both Jack and Voth are drawn into corruption and conspiracy, it becomes clear that their fates are intertwined - and only a miracle will save them both.