The action takes place from March 19 to March 26, 1815 in France, during the last week before Easter, in the Catholic calendar called passionate. The novel is based on historical events related to the return of Napoleon Bonaparte to Paris, who fled from the island of Elba, where he was in exile. The main character of this multifaceted epic novel is the young artist Theodore Gericault. In 1811, his father, Georges Gericault, with the consent of his son who hated war, hired a recruit instead of him to serve in Napoleon's army. And for several years, Theodore calmly engaged in painting. However, in 1815, he was suddenly determined to be the gray musketeers of King Louis XVIII and thus included in the dramatic events that swept France.

In the barracks of the royal troops on the outskirts of Paris, an order was received early in the morning to arrive in the capital on the Champ de Mars, where in the afternoon the king wants to conduct a review. What decision will the king make - to defend the Louvre and Paris according to the developed plan or to leave the capital, since Bonaparte very quickly and almost unhindered approaches the city? Everyone is discussing the news of the betrayal of the “faithful” Marshal Ney, who was sent by the king to block Bonaparte’s road to Paris and who sided with the emperor. Theodore Gericault also asks himself one more question - what will happen personally to him if the generals continue to cheat on the king, and the royal troops with convoys and weapons join the Napoleon’s army? Maybe give up everything, sit out in my father’s huge house, go back to painting? .. However, after a short rest in his Paris house, despite the fatigue, doubts, rain and slush, Theodore still arrives on time in his beloved horse Tricot to the gathering place .

Meanwhile, time passes, but the king does not appear. Rumors about betrayals, about the flight of aristocrats, about Bonaparte, who is on the outskirts of Paris, about the indecision of the king excite the minds of the French. The military is not informed, but they suddenly see the king’s carriage. At high speed, it moves away from the Louvre. So the monarch is fleeing, but where, in what direction? Then suddenly the carriage stops, the king orders the troops to return to the barracks, and he returns to the Louvre. The city is revitalizing, in some quarters, regular cafes are already drinking for Napoleon's health. Walking around in the form of a royal musketeer is dangerous, but don’t sleep on such a night ?! Theodore enters a cafe and almost provokes a fight with his uniform. Fortunately, his old acquaintance Dieudonne, who was there, recognizes Theodore and settles everything. Dieudonne returns to the emperor, but he did not forget Theodore, whom he has known since childhood and whom he served as a model for one of the paintings. Wandering around Paris, Gericault also meets other friends. The same confusion reigns in his head as in the whole city. Thoughts succeed each other. Thoughts about the past, present and future of the motherland alternate with thoughts about painting. What is better for France - the king, Bonaparte or the Republic? Why doesn't he, the artist Theodore Gericault, immediately run to his workshop? Indeed, all that he saw during the day and sees now is a bright light in the Louvre, where they receive the ambassador of Spain, and the blackness of the night - everything asks for the canvas. Now he could work no worse than his beloved Caravaggio.

However, his legs did not carry him home, but to his musketeers, who, together with other troops, left Paris and, after the king and his escort who had already left in the middle of the night, retreated to the north of the country. But where exactly, on which route - no one knows, even the king’s nephew, the Duke of Berry, who briefly lingered on his beloved Virginie, who gave birth to him a son the other day. The king appointed Marshal Meson commander in chief, but he cannot organize anything either - the generals act as they see fit. It is not known where the headquarters is located, but it is known that on March 19 in the evening the entire staff appeared in the office, demanded a salary and disappeared. No sooner had the royal troops moved away from Paris, as part of them had already turned back: in Saint-Denis, General Exelmans, who went over to the side of Bonaparte, lured them. The units devoted to the king on March 20, in bad weather and impassable mud, reached the town of Beauvais, from where the king and his retinue had just left. But where? In Calais, and then to England? One can only guess. And what is destined for them - will the battle be given here, or will the retreat continue? Beauvais residents are afraid of Bonaparte's return. After all, then the recruitment camps will begin again, a bloody tribute to the war, and their city is already almost completely destroyed. And production will suffer, then who will need their textiles?

In Beauvais, Gericault stopped for the night in the house of the widow-grocer Duran. Her daughter, sixteen-year-old Denise, told Theodore that a young officer, Alphonse de Pra, had visited them a year ago, who read her his poems and described Italy wonderfully. Theodore later found out that it was Lamartine. And on the same night, at dawn, the suprefect of the city brought the news that Emperor Bonaparte solemnly settled in the Louvre in Paris. In Beauvais, the military commanders and the princes who arrived there in the morning cannot hide their confusion: the troops to the city have not yet fully pulled themselves up, and General Excelsmans, who set off to catch them, may be about to impose a battle. So, you need to spare horses, buy horses, get to the port of Dieppe as soon as possible and sail to England, without even having direct instructions from the king, who still does not make himself felt.

Among those sent for the horses is Jericho. A conversation with the owner of the herd is not easy, but the musketeers still manage, thanks to their assertiveness, to buy the best horses. Among the horses stands out one, black suit with a white spot on the hind leg. One should be careful with such “white-footed girls”, since they are very restive. Gericault gives this handsome horse to a friend Marc-Antoine, who, on the way to Beauvais, lost his beloved horse. But the gift turns out to be fatal: two days later, the horse, frightened by an unexpected shot, carried a new owner who was unable to free his leg from the stirrup. The rider in serious condition is left in the care of a poor peasant family, and his further fate remains unclear.

At the entrance to the city of Pua, Theodore had to call in the forge to shoe his Tricot. He remains to spend the night at the blacksmith Muller, to whom two men arrived - the old man Joubert and the young charioteer Bernard. Muller is married to Sophie, to whom tender feelings Bernard and assistant blacksmith Firmen have. At dinner, Theodore's sharp gaze caught signs of a drama being played out in this house. Firmen hates Bernard, feeling that Sophie is secretly fascinated by this guest who regularly appears at the blacksmith's. Firmen patiently waits for the right moment to deal with his rival. At midnight, Firmen enters the room to Theodore and calls him to go with him after Bernard and Joubert to a secret gathering of conspirators. Firmen hopes that the royal musketeer Gericault, having heard the anti-royal speeches of the conspirators, will report to Bernard, and thus he will be freed from his hated opponent. About twenty people gathered in a clearing near the cemetery. They excitedly discuss the causes of the plight of the people, blame the aristocrats and the king, and blame Bonaparte for endless wars and ruins. How many people, so many opinions. Theodore, who hid behind a tree, seems to be in the theater and watching some unfamiliar drama. It turns out that the price of bread can excite and even bother someone, some sort of books of account cause curses on the workers, and these same workers are talking with hope about some kind of “workers' unions”. Some of them argue that the people should not trust anyone else, others argue that Bonaparte can be what the people will do if the people give them the right direction and unite themselves. Gericault feels that something is changing in himself. This wave of human passions carries him and brings him purely physical pain. He got here by accident, but now he will always be on the side of these people, about whom he knew practically nothing before. And when Firmen insistently asks Theodore to return to the city and tells everything to the royal authorities who will arrest the rebels, Theodore furiously throws Firmen down and hits him in the face.

The news of the Excellence cavalry drives the princes and counts out of the English Channel, but Theodore Gericault does not even think about emigration. In Pois, the word "homeland" was enriched for him with a new meaning, now he could not part with France, leave the needy and suffering people. But the king hurries to leave France: firstly, you can’t fall into the hands of Bonaparte, and secondly, even relatives who dream of taking over his crown are now dangerous. Louis XVIII wants to outwit them all - after some time to return with his allies and protect himself from all applicants. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating among the soldiers of the king that in Lille, the guard may join forces with foreign armies on the border. So, the Duke of Orleans, who assured the army two days ago that the king would never turn to foreigners for help and would not call them to French soil, lied.

A riot is ripening in the army. For some generals, this problem arises with the same acuteness. For example, Marshal MacDonald openly declares to the king that the border will not cross. The moment of choice has come: loyalty to the king or loyalty to the homeland. And the king himself, having not reached the port on the English Channel, decided to quickly cross the Franco-Belgian border into Meneno. In the squares of French cities, instead of “Long live the king!” everywhere they shout “Long live the emperor!” and on Good Friday they go to the cathedral for a liturgy. But Theodore is not up to religious rites: he has not yet found an answer for himself which side to take. It is already clear that it is not on the side of the king, who has stained himself with the shame of treason. But what is better Bonaparte? After all, he once said that he did not want to be the emperor of the mob. He does not care that the people are starving to death, and the army and countless police keep him in fear. Or maybe that young speaker who called on royalists and republicans to rally against the tyrant emperor is right? All this remains to be seen. And now Theodore Gericault, who has already visited the limits of the possible, at this hour of the Easter Matins, just wants to live, paint, look at the faces of people, love them. He wants to become a real painter of the world that surrounds him.