The Jefferson Conspiracy

Thousands roared their welcome to the 34-gun French frigate sailing into Charleston, South Carolina, in April, 1793. At the bow stood a colorfully dressed young Frenchman doffing his feathered chapeau and waving to the cheering throng. The Frenchman was the celebrated Edmond-Charles Genêt--the first French ambassador to the U.S. What the welcoming crowd did not--could not--know was that Citizen Genêt, as he was called, was also a master spy carrying two sets of instructions. One set directed him to establish warm diplomatic relations; the other told him to find his "mole" in the Washington administration--Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson--and overthrow George Washington's government. "The Genêt Affair" details America's first and most thrilling real-life spy story. Espionage, intrigue, and a touch of romance fill this real-life drama in American history by New York Times best-selling author Harlow Giles Unger.