An imperial lover

A seasoned French marshal, now married to a Russian noblewoman, is summoned by the king to undertake a covert diplomatic mission in Moscow. The story opens in the early 1700s, when Peter the Great is reshaping his empire, shedding old customs for European fashions and reforms that ripple through court and society. As the envoy travels north with his loyal servant, a curious aide‑de‑camp, and his wounded yet charismatic companion Guillaume de Lambert, the reader is drawn into a vivid portrait of a world on the brink of transformation.

In Moscow the marshal finds a nation markedly altered since his last visit, and a personal landscape equally unsettled. Between political intrigue, the demands of the Tsar’s new agenda, and the subtle pull of an unexpected romance, his carefully plotted return home becomes tangled in delicate domestic drama. The opening promises a blend of historical intrigue and intimate conflict, inviting listeners to follow a seasoned soldier as he navigates love, loyalty, and the shifting tides of early‑modern Europe.