Paris, 1774. Beneath the glittering facade of the ancien régime, a clockwork conspiracy ticks, threatening to shatter the gilded cage of the French monarchy. Prince Nicholas, stifled by the opulence of Versailles, escapes into the shadowed alleys of Paris disguised as Monsieur Dubois, a man of modest means but insatiable curiosity. When a renowned clockmaker vanishes, leaving behind a trail of intricate automatons and coded messages, Nicholas finds himself drawn into a world of whispers and intrigue.
His investigation leads him to Belinda Fisher, a fiercely independent cartographer whose maps chart not only the city’s physical landscape but its hidden currents of information. Together, they navigate a labyrinth of secrets, uncovering a plot that reaches the highest echelons of power, a conspiracy intertwined with a forbidden romance and a devastating betrayal.
From the smoky backrooms of intellectual gatherings to the clandestine catacombs beneath the city, Nicholas and Belinda must decipher coded messages hidden within botanical illustrations and ancient texts, unravel the mysteries of missing chess pieces and melancholic automatons, and expose the truth before the gilded cage collapses entirely. But as they delve deeper into the conspiracy, Nicholas discovers that the greatest threat lies not in the shadows of Paris, but within his own family, a venomous plot hatched by his ambitious uncle, the Duc d’Orléans.
Torn between his duty to his crown and his burgeoning feelings for Belinda, Nicholas must choose between loyalty and justice, family and the future of France. As the revolution’s whispers grow louder, he must confront the devastating truth and risk everything to expose the conspiracy, even if it means shattering the gilded cage forever.
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