A Splendid Hazard

June 16th, Paris. Rain slicks the boulevards as American correspondent John Fitzgerald walks with purpose, commemorating a date that still echoes through European history. A chance encounter with the mysterious Karl Breitmann draws Fitzgerald into a world where romance, historical obsession, and dangerous secrets collide. At Napoleon's tomb, he encounters the enigmatic Laura Killigrew, daughter of a retired admiral, and finds himself entangled in affairs far removed from his duties as a journalist. What begins as a sophisticated diversion in Parisian high society soon reveals darker currents beneath its elegant surface. MacGrath crafts an evocative portrait of an American outsider navigating a world of shifting loyalties, where every dinner invitation carries weight and every beautiful woman may be tied to secrets that could cost lives. The novel captures the intoxicating atmosphere of pre-WWI Europe, where the shadow of Napoleon still falls across the continent and adventure waits in every shadowed corner.