This is the first novel from the Pardalian series. France in the 16th century was a boiling cauldron of passions. Religious wars, political upheavals, the secrets of the crowned princes, the decline of the Valois dynasty... Against the backdrop of these turbulent events, the action of Michel Zevaco's novels unfolds. The noble and brave nobleman Jean de Pardallan, by the will of fate, finds himself drawn into political palace intrigues. Showing miracles of courage, the Chevalier restores trampled justice, incurring the wrath of the powerful Catherine de Medici.