Madame Campan’s Academie Nationale is one of the most celebrated schools in all of France, and her students are equally illustrious. Meet the impetuous Eliza Monroe - la belle Americaine - whose father will one day be named president of the United States. And Hortense de Beauharnais, Josephine Bonaparte’s stunningly beautiful daughter, who has fallen for a man her family will never accept. Meanwhile, Caroline Bonaparte - yes, Napoleon’s sister - will stop at nothing to capture the attention of a handsome young general, even if it means crossing her brother. And then there is (the original character) Madeleine de Pourtant, daughter of a volatile actress in the Comedie Francaise, who harbors a secret that could tear apart the world of the dazzling young socialites. Before the term is out, one girl will find true love, one will be heartbroken, and a third girl’s dreams will take a deadly turn.