Valentina Grunowska gazed with horror at her brutal husband, the count. Married to him in her teens, the great beautiful countess had learned to fear his iron will, his cold-blooded sensuality, his arrogance. But now he was demanding that she, his young wife, should prostitute herself to the leaders of the invading French army in order to gain valuable information about Napoleon's plans for the attack on Russia.Valentina, as unwilling Polish agent, went to the French that night fearing what she must do. Colonel de Chavel is cold, contemptuous, and head of the French intelligence service. But she did not know the handsome, embittered French officer who would enter her life, and plunge her into a whirlpool of reckless passion and danger...Theirs seems like the least likely of love stories. But, as Napoleon's army sweeps on towards Moscow, great events will throw them together - and pull them apart again. As the French face defeat and a starving retreat through the snow, Valentina must search desperately amongst the survivors for the man she loves.