By the 50th year of his reign, Louis XIV has made France the most powerful state in the western world, but the Sun King's appetite for glory knows no bounds. In a bold stroke, he sends his natural philosopher on an expedition to seek the source of immortality: the mythical sea monster. For the glory of his God, his country, and his king, Father Yves de la Croix returns with his treasures: one heavy shroud packed in ice ... and in a covered basin, an imprisoned sea-creature. Marie-Josephe de la Croix has been looking forward to assisting her brother in the scientific study of the sea monster - until she makes a discovery that will threaten everything her brother, the court and the King believe.