
by Novel in association with BBC Studios
When London boutique owner Bridget Hutchcroft befriends a glamorous client at her Knightsbridge dress agency, she believes she has met a Russian socialite with vast wealth and powerful connections. Ekaterina Barrett glides through luxury apartments, London’s finest hotels and European high society dinners with unwavering confidence. Chauffeurs wait outside. Extravagant goods pile up. Money, it seems, is no object.Until it vanishes.Bridget generously lends her wealthy new friend more than a million pounds, but it proves to be a disastrous mistake.When Ekaterina refuses to pay the money back, Bridget’s loyal circle of friends step in. Journalist Vicky Baker joins them in a frantic search for answers. It turns out Bridget is not the only one claiming to be severely out of pocket thanks to the broken promises of her mysterious former friend.What follows is an international investigation stretching from London to Vienna, the Netherlands and Monaco. Courtrooms, casinos and opera houses a