From Catherine Gavin, acclaimed author of A Light Woman, The Glory Road and Dawn of Splendour, comes the unforgettable story of Napoleon, Josephine, and the young woman who witnessed their passion. Marie Fontaine's life is inextricably entwined with the life of Napoleon in Egypt and his excessive wooing of the divine but flawed Josephine. Once, Marie had sought a career, outside her time and gender, as a pharmacist, army nurse, and helper of the down-and-out. Now, married to the soldier Latour, she finds that her skills are of use to her formidable hero Napoleon. Her courage, her steadfast love, make her a memorable heroine. Seldom, too, has the character of Napoleon been so enthrallingly captured. Peeling away the onion skins of his facade, Catherine Gavin reveals the man behind the myth - complex, passionate, heroic. This engrossing novel brings historyand one of its greatest players to brilliant and vibrant life.