At sixteen, Princess Charlotte falls in love with an Austrian archduke, Maximilian of the House of Habsburg. Soon enough, she finds herself enmeshed in the cruel and unpredictable world of international diplomacy as her marriage founders. Increasingly shrewd, naïveté and idealism replaced by practicality and skepticism, Charlotte will help ensure that she and Maximilian are sent to Mexico to reign as emperor and empress...

Ever since marrying Maximilian of Austria, Charlotte's life has been a series of disenchantments. Her life with Max reduced to nothing, she now puts all her stakes in the Mexican crown. Upon the couple's arrival in Veracruz, they are faced with an anemic, worn-out country, far from pacified by the French troops. They must come head-to-head with the defiant local elites, who have decided to take advantage of Max's weaknesses in order to preserve their own interests.

Despite a bourgeoning revolution and Maximilian's increasingly erratic behavior, Empress Charlotte is determined the empire will hold. But faced with betrayals from without and within, Charlotte's dream of a united Mexico (and an heir to the throne) may never come to fruition.