From the last decadent days of the old monarchy through the Revolution and the rise and fall of Napoleon, the arts in France are dominated by one man: the mysterious figure of Jacques-Louis David. He is the greatest painter of his day, an ardent revolutionary – and a leading figure in Robespierre's secret police.

Napoleon has fallen, and David is in exile. His star pupil, Jean-Auguste Ingres, seems set to assume the role of first painter of France. Ingres's superb portraits and exotic paintings of the nude have made his reputation. But he seems to be a man out of his time, and his career is marked by bitter conflicts.

By the middle of the 19th century, Ingres is the grand old man of French painting. His arch-rival Delacroix is still the guiding light of the Romantics. But there is one genius, a contemporary of both men, who has been utterly forgotten. Writer Charles Clément sets out to investigate the mysterious and tragic figure of Théodore Géricault.