**She ruled an empire of elegance. Louise Vernet.** Raised in the slums of Paris. Coming of age around the splendor and corruption of the Second Empire. **She ruled the world of fashion, clothing the most fabled women of title and of pleasure in a society where even sin had to have style.** **She took as her lover a nobleman she could never wed** -- and **gave a name to their child by entering into a passionless marriage.** Sweeping from the Paris of Louis Napoleon to the England of Queen Victoria... and from the depths of despair to the heights of joy and fulfillment... **this is the unforgettable saga of a woman of daring and destiny -- and the dazzling world of French haute couture she helped create....**