Valentina Grunowska is a countess, a great beauty, and an unwilling Polish agent - ordered by her brutal husband to spy on Napoleon's plans for the attack on Russia. Colonel de Chavel is cold, contemptuous, and head of the French intelligence service. Theirs seems like the least likely of love stories. But, as Napoleon's army sweeps on towards Moscow, great events will throw them together - and pull them apart again. As the French face defeat and a starving retreat through the snow, Valentina must search desperately amongst the survivors for the man she loves.