Paris, 1889. Trapped in a marriage to the much older Victor Roleau, Marie lives a gilded life in Parisian high society of lavish salons, whispered secrets, and a freedom paid for with her obedience. It is a beautiful prison, and she knows it. Victor believes he owns her, yet the U.S. government knows better. Because Marie is more than an artist. She is an undercover spy.

When the U.S. government demands she return to active service, Marie is sent halfway across the world to the fever-soaked jungles of Panama, where the greatest engineering project of the age is collapsing under corruption, disease, and death. For the Americans to take control from the French, the Canal must fail and Marie is expected to sabotage it.

But the jungle is not the only danger closing in.

While a brilliant young doctor, Gabriel, risks everything for her, offering passion, hope, and escape a danger even more menacing than the jungle closes in on Marie. Two relentless, competing detectives follow her trail, determined to see her answer for her crimes. And then there is the man who taught her how to lie, survive, and spy: Charlie Blaine. He is the mentor she trusts and despises above all others… and the one she secretly loves, even if she does not realise it.

Surrounded by troublesome men, hunted by enemies, and burning with impossible desires, Marie must choose between freedom and duty, love and survival.

Because on the fever coast, people go there and they die.

David Gennard’s historical adventure-thriller is a sweeping tale of romance, danger, and espionage, introducing a fearless heroine you won’t forget and whose next adventure you’ll be desperate to follow.

The Marie Cadieux adventures can be read as standalone novels or enjoyed as a wider world where she embarks on mysteries and exploits throughout her life.