Fifty years have gone by since Samuel Bernard sailed with Napoleon Bonaparte to conquer Egypt. Now, on the eve of his retirement from the Paris Mint, the ailing Samuel is sorting through his personal papers and mementoes, deciding what is innocent enough to keep for posterity and what should be destroyed.As the old documents pass through his hands, he struggles to come to terms with the past and the two secrets he carried with him from Egypt. One he swore never to reveal; and one he never had the courage to share. One he must take to the grave; and one that leaves his daughter wondering about an old man she never truly knew.