In 'The Pink Shop', a novel by Fergus Hume, Madame Coralie runs a beauty shop in a mean little lane in Kensington, where she restores the aged to their youth. Her methods are painless compared to the ancient Medea, who boiled her patients in a cauldron. The women who visit her shop leave feeling beautiful and young, but they must do so in secrecy, as the business is hidden away in the unremarkable building with pink walls. The police know about Madame Coralie, but turn a blind eye to her business, as her clients are often wives and daughters of the men in power. However, the scandalous secrets of the shop are about to be revealed.
