The bank

1815. In London, everyone awaits with baited breath news from the continent, where Napoleon has returned and is about to engage Britain’s army. Among the anxious populace are Nathan Rotschild, a banker of growing reputation among the mighty, and his brother Jacob, who is in love with Charlotte – a French aristocrat in exile forced to make a living as a courtesan. As the battle soon to be joined at Waterloo will determine the fate of the kingdom, fortunes will be made – or unmade …

1861. The colossal profits generated by Haussmann’s great work have made both branches of the Saint-Hubert family extremely rich. Despite the sometimes bloody, sometimes tragic secrets that poison this generation, a certain rapprochement seems to be in the works – motivated, of course, by money. A partnership aimed at taking advantage of Napoleon III’s military adventurism. But a major, devastating war with Prussia is in the making, and on its heels, the events of the Paris Commune will seal the fate of some of the siblings …

1857. It has been five years since Baron Haussmann began his colossal endeavour: remodelling Paris into a modern capital. The city is at the centre of such a storm of real estate speculation that not every means employed to ensure the success of an investment stays within the confines of the law. In the middle of this financial free-for-all, a new generation of Saint-Huberts will clash, the children of Charlotte and those of Christian, two branches seemingly unable to escape the hatred the sister and the brother have for each other.

1825. Charlotte, now living in Paris and ruined by Jacob Rothschild’s schemes, is once again forced to sell her body, until news comes that gives her hope again: King Charles X has decided to compensate the ‘Émigrés’ – the nobles who had fled the French Revolution and lost everything. A chance for her to get part of her family’s fortune back … but her London past still haunts her: the murder of a lord, and a brother she abandoned to British justice …