The Fate of a Crown by L. Frank Baum

The Fate of a Crown plunges into imperial Brazil, where revolution, monarchy, and private loyalty collide in a world of spies, secret messages, and sudden violence. Robert Harcliffe's quiet life is shattered when his uncle sends him to Rio as secretary to Dom Miguel de Pintra, a wealthy former businessman leading a dangerous uprising against the Emperor. Eager for adventure, Robert enters a maze of deception aboard the Castina, where a charming companion proves to be Valcour, an imperial agent hunting the very man Robert serves. From the ship to the streets of Rio, danger closes in fast. Robert is arrested, rescued by a revolutionary who murders his superior, and carried into Brazil's interior, where the calm beauty of Matto Grosso hides a volatile political struggle. At Dom Miguel's estate, secret councils, a stolen ring, and a deadly murder expose the fragility of the revolutionary cause. As Robert works under an assumed name, grief and duty collide with his growing love for Lesba Paola, while Valcour's shadow and the Emperor's movements drive the intrigue toward ever greater peril. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.