A brilliant adventure tale of life in the Court of Louis XIV and of Canada under French rule... and Huguenot persecution The Refugees is set in both 17th Century France and in the wilds of North America. Although Doyle wasnt a Christian, he writes with a great deal of sympathy as he describes the plight of French Protestants in the late 17th century. The year is 1690 and the De Catinat family is facing disaster. Because they are Huguenots, French Protestants, Louis XIV has stripped the family of their wealth, titles and soon, in all likelihood, their lives. They are rescued, however, by an American who is visiting Paris. He arranges for them to escape to the New World, but their troubles are just beginning. Along the way we visit the inner sanctum of King Louis palace, travel through the ice-berg infested waters of the north Atlantic sea, and journey in the wilderness of New France.