It is 1570, and France has been torn apart by religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots. The formidable Queen Mother, Catherine de Medicis, calls on Henri de Malassise to negotiate a peace treaty with the Huguenots.

The wily nobleman needs all his experience and psychological insight to navigate through the tactics, manoeuvres and compromises of the discussions. He sees some division in the Huguenot ranks: is it a weakness, or a clever ploy by his adversaries? Is it by chance or design that his Huguenot cousin, the enigmatic Eleonore, appears on the scene at a critical moment?

The negotiation at Saint-Germain really did take place, and Malassise played a key role. The author Francis Walder draws on his own military and diplomatic experience to illustrate, through this Prix Goncourt-winning novel, the skills of negotiation much needed in diplomacy and business today.