After a deadly duel with a jealous rival, Pierre de Siorac must travel to Paris, to seek his pardon from the King. In the capital city he finds a world of sweet words and fierce pride, where coquettish smiles hide behind fans, and murderous intents behind elegant bows; a world of genteel tennis matches and deadly swordplay, where elaborate social graces mask a simmering tension that will soon explode to engulf the entire city-and signal the dawn of a new and bloody era in the history of France. Here, Pierre faces the greatest challenge of his young existence-not merely to win a royal pardon, but to escape from Paris with his life, and the lives of his beloved companions, intact. Heretic Dawn is the third book in the swashbuckling Fortunes of France series, after The Brethren and City of Wisdom and Blood.