A Place of Greater Safety

Set against the violence, upheaval, and drama of the French Revolution, this sweeping historical novel brings to life the intertwined lives, loves, and ambitions of three men who helped shape the course of history: Georges-Jacques Danton, the powerful orator; Maximilien Robespierre, the cold and calculating rationalist; and Camille Desmoulins, the brilliant pamphleteer and fellow conspirator.

It is 1789, and three young provincials arrive in Paris determined to make their mark. Danton, an ambitious young lawyer, is energetic, pragmatic, and deeply in debt, yet possesses a charisma that draws people to him. Robespierre, also a lawyer, is slight, meticulous, and deeply wary of violence. His closest friend, Camille Desmoulins, is a gifted and unpredictable pamphleteer, a charming gadfly whose brilliance and contradictions make him impossible to ignore. Beautiful, bisexual, and emotionally divided, Camille is devoted to one woman while engaged to marry another.

As revolution sweeps through France, the three men are drawn ever deeper into its intoxicating world of ideals, ambition, and power. Each discovers the seductive rewards of influence—and the devastating price that comes with wielding it.