The Master of All Desires

It is 1556 and the queen's astrologer, the prophet Nostradamus, has uncovered - through his powers of divination - a secret that could destroy the entire kingdom of France. The queen, Catherine de Medici, a dabbler in black magic, has decided to get rid of the king's mistress by seeking out the legendary Undying Head of Menander the Magus, known as the Master of All Desires. But only Nostradamus understands the true nature of this evil object, which sows destruction everywhere it goes and does indeed grant wishes - but with a deadly twist......
As Nostradamus hurries to Paris to warn the queen, he discovers that the coffer containing the Master has fallen into the possession of a charming, wryly perceptive but stubborn young woman: Sibille Artaud de la Rogue, a bluestocking aspiring poet. Sibille is tempted by Menander to obtain all her desires - beauty, genius, and a dashing, intelligent cavalier. Can Nostradamus stop these determined ladies from wishing on the Master of All Desires and destroy it before it brings down the entire kingdom?
The three-way battle that ensues between a prophet who scorns poetry, a woman in love, and a sly and ruthless queen is set against the rich, detailed tapestry of a nation on the verge of civil war and a lively constellation of famous figures clustered around Nostradamus, seer of the millennium.