France, 1794. Thérésa Cabarrus enters the struggle between revolutionary factions while her relationship with Jean-Lambert Tallien makes her both politically useful and personally vulnerable. Sir Percy Blakeney becomes involved when Thérésa’s schemes and Chauvelin’s pursuit threaten Marguerite and place the League inside a contest that reaches beyond an individual rescue.
Percy manipulates the fears and ambitions of men who know that Robespierre’s government may soon turn against them. The plot culminates in the Thermidorian Reaction, presenting Tallien’s move against Robespierre as partly accelerated by the danger to Thérésa and by Percy’s interventions. Historical figures are woven directly into the adventure, allowing the fall of the Terror’s leading faction to become both a political reversal and the solution to a personal trap.