historical fiction, women's fiction

Paris, August 1856: An ordinary woman far from home. A plot against the crown. Those she loves in terrible danger…

Livia, a humble doctor’s daughter from the Italian countryside, arrives in Paris with her new husband. At first, she feels alone and isolated among the gray, rain-drenched streets. Until Elisabetta, the Emperor’s clever, beautiful mistress, takes her under her wing, and finally Livia has a true ally.

The two women are soon inseparable, strolling arm in arm down Paris’s wide boulevards and dancing the night away at masked balls. At last, Livia feels happy in her new life.

But when Elisabetta is mysteriously poisoned, the tables turn and it is Livia who has the power to shape the destiny of those around her. She must draw on all her knowledge of herbs and medicine to cure her friend. And the stakes soon become higher than she ever imagined, when her husband is falsely accused of treason and conspiring against the crown.

With Elisabetta close to death and the future of France in peril, Livia will need to draw on all her courage to save the lives of those she loves… as well as her own…

A totally gripping, richly imagined historical novel about the power held by women in a world run by men. Fans of Lucinda Riley, Kate Morton and Marie Benedict will be absolutely hooked from the very first page until the final, breathtaking conclusion.