This is a novel about exiles, refugees and immigrants. The time is the early 18th century; the scene is Paris. The location is a gambling establishment of dubious reputationathe Hotel de Transylvania. Situated on the Seine embankment, across the Louvre, a group of Hungarian expatriates support themselves on their good looks, charm, guile and political connection. This establishment is run by the grey eminence of the AbbA© Brenner, under the protection of the exiled Prince of Transylvania. This is the story of the denizens of that hotel from 1713 to 1717. It is about being a foreigner, yet crafty and adaptable; it is about entering a new social environment, and succeeding or failing in Europeas most glamorous and exciting city. And it is also a reflection on a society that was rapidly emerging from the rigid rule of Louis XIV to the expanding freedoms under the OrlA©ans regency. In the background, there is the still-smouldering conflict between the Jesuits and Jansenists. The sacred and the profane, constantly juxtaposed and confronting each other, in an environment of fabulous wealth and painful povertyaand four young men absorbing it all.