Imagine a substance beloved by children and synonymous with romance—yet one that, centuries ago, served as actual currency used to trade human lives. Today, we aren't talking about run-of-the-mill candy. We are going to strip away chocolate’s glamorous veneer to reveal its true face.

This is the epic journey of cacao: from its ancient, mysterious sanctuaries to its transoceanic voyages on the great ships of the Age of Discovery; through the brutal commodification wrought by the Industrial Revolution; and finally, to its salvation—and the reclamation of its soul—at the hands of a few obsessive visionaries in modern-day Paris.