1829. Sainte-Suzanne, Bourbon Island. A Black orphan, a slave of only seven weeks, is placed - as if by fate - into the arms of Ferreol Beaumont, a botanist with a passion for orchids. He raises this child, Edmond, teaching him all he knows of the lush plants that populate his tropical garden. At twelve years old, the illiterate young prodigy unlocks the secret to hand-pollinating the vanilla orchid, revolutionizing not only the island's economy but French patisserie, perfumes & more. While his discovery brings prosperity to others, the exhilarating aroma of the vanilla flower soon dissipates for Edmond as a bitter reality stretches out before him - his brilliance unrecognized, his name forgotten. A caustic look at the nineteenth-century history of Reunion Island under French colonial rule. For lovers of history, botany and vanilla ice cream.

Award-winning author Gaëlle Bélem from Reunion has published two novels with Gallimard - Un monstre est la, derriere la porte (2020) & Le fruit le plus rare (2023). Her third book, Sud sauvage was published in April 2025. She works as a juvenile court judge as well as teaching Latin, Geography & History.