In the first half of the twentieth century, a few determined Australian women took a leap into the unknown and ventured to France, where they succeeded in carving out careers for themselves as artists. They studied, painted, and haunted galleries and salons. They exhibited in the Paris salons and in private galleries on the Left Bank. They received prizes and awards out of all proportion to their number. And they brought back to Australia not only greatly enhanced skills but also Modernism - to a country that had barely heard of it. This book examines the lives and careers of a selection of the best artists among them, including some who have been all but forgotten, giving them back their rightful place in Australian art history.