Benjamin Voisin

Lucien de Rubempré, a young, lower-class poet, leaves his family's printing house for Paris. Soon, he learns the dark side of the arts business as he tries to stay true to his dreams.

Born into the tumult of the French Revolution, Antoine Carême would rise from poverty to become one of history's most acclaimed chefs, crossing paths with such figures as Napoleon, Tsar Alexander, and the Rothschilds.

When 16-year-old Alexis capsizes off the coast of Normandy, 18-year-old David heroically saves him. Alexis has just met the friend of his dreams, who opens his eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art and sexual bliss.