Madame de Maintenon is King Louis XIV’s second wife. The daughter of a minor noble of ill-repute, she has not forgiven the king’s Jesuit confessor for encouraging him to withhold the title of Queen from her. To placate her, the prestigious Louis le Grand Jesuit school has sent a delegation— including her distant relation Pere Jouvancy and rhetoric teacher Charles du Luc—to Versailles with a gift of reliquary.

The Sun King’s palace is spectacular, but the delegation’s visit grows darker and darker. On their first night, a courtier dies, and court whispers claim poison. Then the Jesuits fall direly ill, and a palace gardener is found murdered. Now, fear grips a court where everyone has secrets to hide...