Ambition, Revenge and Deceit in French Indo-China
Gripping detective story, fascinating social history, intense human drama, 'The Deprat Affair' recreates the hothouse atmosphere of colonial Indo-China in the early twentieth century. Among its cliques, its bitter rivalries, its nepotism and favours, how are we to disentangle the scientific, the moral and the legal truths of the affair?
En route to a golden future as one of France's greatest geologists, Jacques Deprat is suddenly accused of fraud and plunged into a desperate fight to save his reputation. Thrown out of the science to which he has given everything, he re-invents himself, changes his name and begins not one, but two fascinating lives, each as extraordinary and colourful as the one he left behind. Innocent or guilty, Jacques Deprat is an astonishing figure, whose capacity to overcome the world's disgrace and the dissolution of his dreams makes an amazing and captivating story.