This is a bright, exciting, talented story about Gabrielle d'Estrées, the mistress of Henry IV. And also a familiar time: from the moment Henry of Navarre converted to Catholicism and until his marriage to Maria de Medici. The main character is a beautiful blue-eyed and blond young man, Esperance, whose name means “hope.” The secret of his birth is shrouded in darkness; who his parents are is unknown. All he has is a mysterious letter from his dead mother and a recommendation to contact the famous military leader Captain Crillon to give him this mysterious letter. Captain Crillon takes Esperance under his protection, and it later turns out that the young man is his son.