In February 1887 Caitriona Wallace & Emile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon floating high above Paris
- a moment of pure possibility But back on firm ground their vastly different social strata become clear Cait is a widow who because of her precarious financial situation is forced to chaperone two wealthy Scottish charges Emile is expected to take on the bourgeois stability of his family's business & choose a suitable wife As the Eiffel Tower rises a marvel of steel & air & light the subject of extreme controversy & a symbol of the future Cait & Emile must decide what their love is worth Seamlessly weaving historical detail & vivid invention Beatrice Colin evokes the revolutionary time in which Cait & Emile live
- one of corsets & secret trysts duels & Bohemian independence strict tradition & Impressionist experimentation To Capture What We Cannot Keep stylish provocative & shimmering raises probing questions about a woman's place in that world the overarching reach of class distinctions & the sacrifices love requires of us all