1670, Restoration England. Bawdy, sensual and in the shadow of renewed conflict between King and Parliament. The prospect of a new civil war haunts English life. Royal advisor Samuel Pepys is dispatched by Charles II to negotiate a secret treaty with Louis XIV of France.Troubled by failing eyesight, the acclaimed diarist requires a scribe. After a chance meeting, he employs the beautiful Camille, a fugitive French actress, pursued by powerful French nobility and driven by terrible revenge. As theyjourney to Paris, tracked by violent and mercenary agents of Parliament, an improbable literary love story unfolds in an atmosphere of deadly danger and political intrigue.