'A shimmering, sexy, thrilling tale of intrigue and desire, and the dark paths we walk to keep our secrets safe. Bell has written a shining debut' Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree

An Evening Standard Ones to Watch for 2023 pick

Everyone connected to the court of Louis XIV has something to hide. The noblemen and women consort with fortune tellers in the dark confines of their salons, servants practice witchcraft and black magic, and the titled must brave accusations of poisoning family members to obtain inheritance. But for the Baroness Marie Catherine, the only thing she wishes to hide is how unhappy she is in her marriage, and the pleasures she seeks outside of it. When her husband is present, the Baroness spends her days tending to her children and telling them elaborate fairy tales, but when he's gone, Marie Catherine indulges in a more liberated existence, one of decadent salons at grand houses, forward-thinking discussions with writers and scholars, and at the centre of her freedom: Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti, the androgynous, self-assured countess who steals Marie Catherine's heart and becomes her lover.

Victoire possesses everything Marie Catherine does not, confidence in her love, and a brazen fearlessness in all that she's willing to do for it. But when Victoire's passion results in a shocking act of murder to save Marie Catherine, the pair must escape from the tight clutches of Paris' overzealous chief of police. As they attempt to outwit him, they are led to the darkest corners of Paris and Versailles. What they discover is a city full of lies, mysticism, and people who have secrets they too would kill to keep.