Julian Battersby is a man with two very different faces - to the public at large, he is a legendary raconteur and bon vivant, the only heir to an aristocratic dynasty with a weakness for good scotch, better cigars and the occasional preposterous anecdote. Those who know the private Julian Battersby, however, speak of an entirely different man; a hard taskmaster and geopolitical genius driven by a burning desire to restore Europe to the global prestige she had enjoyed during the 19th and early 20th century.