Lady of the Snakes is the story of Jane Levitsky, a nineteenth-century Russian literature scholar and rising star in her field, whose passion for her work runs into conflict with her commitment to her husband and her young daughter. Jane studies the diaries Masha Karkova, wife of the famous (fictional) nineteenth-century novelist, Grigory Karkov. When Jane lands a good job at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, she encounters a number of obstacles to her professional progress. Maisie, a difficult and asthmatic toddler, requires more attention than Jane feels able to give. Janee(tm)s husband Billy shares domestic responsibilities, but he grows increasingly angry that Jane seems to care more about her work than about her family. Otto Sigelman, a crotchety, brilliant, old-school Karkov scholar who does not like Janee(tm)s feminist approach, does his best to impede her career. In the course of her studies, Jane uncovers some evidence that Masha may have killed herself rather than dying in childbirth, as previously believed. While Jane unravels the mystery of Masha and the past, her own life is falling apart.