Louis Henri de La Rose is a cold aristocrat of 1840s Paris, a junior partner in the wine house “La Rose & Fils” and a man accustomed to placing duty above desire. His world is made of marble halls, dark libraries, family arrangements, black coffee, and conversations where every word has a price. He is sharp-tongued, restrained, impeccably well-bred, and almost impossible to get close to. But behind his icy courtesy lies not emptiness, but something he has forbidden himself to feel for far too long.