France, 1856:

Emmeline Lambert is married to an illusionist sent by Napoleon III to persuade the Arabs - poised for holy war and in thrall to charismatic leaders - that France's might and magic are the greater. Emmeline begins to feel like an illusionist herself, when she dazzles the Emperor and then sheds her inhibitions along with flimsy notions of patriotism and propriety in the hot glare of the Algerian sun. Power, politics, religion and love, the court of Napoleon III and the deserts of Algeria combine in this mesmerising novel from a master storyteller.

'A spellbinding storyteller' Independent
'A tour de force, Moore has left no seams between reality and fiction. Flashing his own sleight of hand, he transforms historical fact into a story both true to its time and relevant to the present day' New York Times
'Combines the pleasure of a thriller with a novel that considers questions of morality and politics, ambition and conscience, the lure of illusion and the magic of truth' People