A great king and his charming secret agent: Henri Quatre and Pierre de Siorac at the gates of Paris. France in 1588. Sixteen years have passed since the Night of St Bartholomew, but there is still civil war between Huguenots and Catholics. It is true that the Duke of Guise, the head of the Catholic League, now lies stabbed to death in the castle of Blois. But the following year, the tolerant King Henry III is also murdered by a fanatical Dominican monk. A human life does not count for much in these times. His successor on the throne is the utterly rude but militarily experienced Henri from Navarre, who stinks of garlic and fucks the country's girls. But Henri is a Huguenot and thus king without a crown - for his capital Paris is occupied by the League. It is in this dramatic context that the amiable, charming Pierre de Siorac, doctor by profession, secret agent by talent, acts. But seducing high-class ladies is not enough this time. He also needs all his political savvy, wit and supreme diplomatic skills to stay alive on the dangerous missions Henri commissions him with - until the latter can finally enter his city after a four-year siege of Paris. Brilliant as no other author of historical novels, Robert Merle knows how to combine profound knowledge of the times with a poetic boldness and elegance that entertains to the highest degree.
