Pirouette is a young girl that has been raised in a circus. After one night when the circus passed through Lima, Ohio, a couple left a small baby with a group of clowns. Judging that they were too far to turn back the clowns decided to raise the child. Unknown to her for some time was the fact that the circus is in some ways a front for criminal activity, either pickpocketing or burglary. She is raised in this environment and treated as a child by most performers, though she is kept closest to the clowns, though she is abused harshly by them. She is told to always wear her makeup so that the scars and bruises from their abuse do not show. Upon returning to Lima, she decides to run away and find her family.
Due to being raised in a circus, she exhibits a number of skills well beyond that of a girl her age, including acrobatics and gymnastics at a level better than those trained for the circus in those roles. She is also an adept thief.