Set in Europe during the late 18th century, this story deviates from Yerby's typical 19th-century American South backdrops. It's the height of the French Revolution. The story centers around Jean Paul Marin, the passionate son of a wealthy merchant. Driven by a fierce hatred for the aristocracy and the monarchy, Jean Paul commits himself to fighting social injustice. His ideals quickly pull him into the violent, turbulent core of the developing French Revolution. As he orchestrates a path of vengeance against his sworn enemy, the Comte de Gravereau, his life becomes deeply complicated by intense romantic involvements with three very different women: Lucienne Talbot, a blind woman named Nicole, and a fierce revolutionary companion. Jean Paul ultimately mirrors the Revolution itself—a volatile mix of extreme idealism, chaotic hatred, and dangerous unpredictability.