The year is 1838. Emperor Napoleon I rules most of Europe after defeating all of his enemies twenty-eight years earlier. Paris is preparing for an imperial double wedding in the summer; the next summer it will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the revolution as well as the emperor's 70th birthday.
But all is not well. Napoleon's sickly son cannot produce an heir which casts doubt on the succession, and Napoleon himself is said to be preparing one last war.
Count Fredrik af Wijkman, Sweden's ambassador to France, finds his quiet life at the Bonaparte court suddenly upset when an unknown man is shot in front of his home and dies in his arms. The dying man's final act was to give Fredrik a bewildering message.
Over the coming months, his life and that of his friends will change forever as Fredrik tries to solve the mystery while the struggle for imperial power becomes ever more fierce.
The future of Europe hangs in the balance and Fredrik eventually finds himself fighting for his life, as the fateful summer of 1839 draws closer.
