March, 1815. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, has traveled to Paris in hopes of tracing his long-lost mother. But his search ends in tragedy when he comes upon the dying Countess in the wasteland at the tip of the Île de la Cité. The French authorities have no interest in involving themselves in the murder of a notorious Englishwman. and Sebastian takes it upon himself to hunt down her killer.