[4] The original twenty-page[5] manuscript consists of two chapters[3] describing the arrival of an apparently wealthy young girl, "Matilda Fitzgibbon", at an expensive private school.

Boylan "steeped herself in letters and writings"[3] and acknowledged the assistance of several notable Brontë scholars in her afterword to the novel.

Boylan developed the story as a mystery novel, using two characters from Brontë's original chapters who work together to solve the puzzle of the eponymous girl's identity:[4] Mrs. Chalfont, a widow introduced as a narrator in the manuscript, and Mr. Ellin, a lawyer who accepts the challenge the girl represents.

Boylan's version was favourably reviewed[3][4] but was not regarded as a faithful continuation of the style and voice of Brontë.

Boylan's Telegraph obituary concluded that she "conveyed little of the deep moral and theological framework that underpinned Charlotte Brontë's writing.