It's over a century before the Revolution and France is under siege. The Thirty Years' War has spread across Europe, alliances are stretched to breaking point and enemies advance on every side. And while Louis XIII sits on the throne, the real power lies with the notorious Cardinal Richelieu. Now, with Richelieu's health failing and France in grave danger, salvation may yet be found in the most unlikely form. Sebastian Morra, born into poverty and with terrible deformities, is a dwarf on a mission. Through a mixture of brains and luck, he has traveled far from his village to become a jester at the royal court. And with a talent for making enemies, he is soon drawn into the twilight world of Cardinal Richelieu, where he discovers he might just be the only man with the talents to save France from her deadliest foes.