In September 1949 Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. Before relenting to family pressure, she has one year to herself far away from sleepy Vassar College and the rigid social circles of New York, a year to explore and absorb the luminous beauty of the City of Light. She strikes up a romance with a talented young writer who shares her love of literature and passion for culture—even though her mother would think him most unsuitable. But beneath the glitter and rush, France is a fragile place still haunted by the Occupation. Jacqueline is stunned to watch the rise of communism—anathema in America, but an active movement in France—never guessing she is witnessing the beginning of the political environment that will shape the rest of her life—and that of her future husband.