Two lives torn apart by the French Revolution... 'What [McMahon has] done is on a par with Sarah Waters - namely, writing satisfying and authentic historical fiction, but with literary excellence' Kate Mosse 1788. Asa Ardleigh, the impressionable daughter of a country squire, has travelled to Paris with her sister Philippa and Philippa's new husband. In the heady days before the Revolution, they find a city fizzing with new ideas - and Asa meets and falls in love with a dashing revolutionary, Didier Paulin. When Asa is forced to return to England, their affair is curtailed, but they continue to exchange letters as storm clouds gather over France and war with England looms. Back in England, no one knows of Asa's liaison as the family's financial worries put pressure on her to marry. But then disturbing news reaches Asa from France, and she must decide whether to follow her head or her heart...
