The Price of Things

Set against the smoke‑filled streets of wartime Paris, the story opens on a newlywed’s honeymoon soirée at the Russian embassy. Amaryllis Ardayre—a poised English bride—finds herself drawn into a stark conversation with a brooding Russian diplomat, whose unsettling ideas about thought, fate and reincarnation clash with her sheltered upbringing. The city’s relentless bombings and hurried whispers provide a gritty backdrop that amplifies the characters’ inner turbulence.

Through their exchange, the novel probes the fragile line between duty and desire, hinting at the dangerous consequences of defying both divine and human law. At the same time, it sketches a psychological portrait of two contrasting women: the faithful, gentle Amaryllis and the hard‑hearted Harietta, whose paths begin to diverge as the war’s pressures surface. The narrative’s raw, unvarnished tone offers listeners a glimpse into the primal instincts that emerge when civilization’s veneer cracks.

Listeners can expect a literary meditation on love, ambition, and the unseen forces shaping our choices, delivered in a stark, lyric style that captures the uneasy spirit of an era teetering on the brink.