Paris, 1871. Vera, the star attraction of The Paradise luxury brothel, is about to finally leave the institution to become the live-in mistress of the Baron Du Plessis. However, The Paradise owes money to a dangerous debt collector named Lupin, and its madam, Hortense Gaillac, is willing to resort to absolutely anything to keep her. Meanwhile, Rose, a pretty young woman engaged to be married, arrives at The Paradise in search of her mother and Hortense sees an opportunity to revive the business ... ABOUT THE SERIES Set in a lavish 19th Century Parisian bordello, the provocative and popular French erotic drama Maison Close invites American audiences into a sumptuous, stylized world where desire and power reign. Following the suppression of la Commune, a short-lived workers' revolutionary movement in the 1870s, a cast of gorgeous women trapped by circumstances reside in "Paradise", a top-rate "closed house" reserved for aristocratic or bourgeois clientele and known for its strange and refined practices during a time of legalized prostitution. Hortense (Valérie Karsenti) is the ruthless and manipulative madame who runs her business with an iron fist, Véra (Anne Charrier) is the stunning star courtesan in her 30s nearing the end of her career, and country ingénue Rose (Jemima West, Mortal Bones: The City of Instruments), arrives in search of her mother, only to be blackmailed into becoming a prostitute. By turns both erotic and political, this uncompromising, finely-crafted television series is the perfect mix of style and substance, a richly compelling period drama with unmistakably modern flair that reimagines age-old themes - and the world's oldest profession - in bold new ways.