In this book the author writes about his five years at the head of the Swiss embassy in Paris (1997-2002).

Born Benedikt von Tscharner on July 18, 1937 in Trub BE (Switzerland) to Jenny Helena Miescher and pastor Daniel Albert von Tscharner. He attended school in Lützelflüh and Burgdorf, then the Humanistische Gymnasium in Basle – his parents had moved to Riehen BS after 1953 – and studied law at the University of Basle (PhD in 1961).
At age 18 he spend an AFS exchange year in Rochester NY (1955-56) where he developped an interest in international politics. Marked by the 1956 events in Hungary he got engaged in the Swiss European mouvement Europa-Union whose national secretary he was 1959/60. After a stint in a law firm in Geneva, he entered the service of the Swiss Confederation in Berne, 1963 and was promoted ambassador in 1980. His last posting was in Paris.
In 1967 he married Corinne Hentsch, they have two daughters. She co-authored this book.

After retirement in 2002, he and his wife lived in Geneva and he chaired the Foundation for the History of the Swiss Abroad (2002-2017) and authored several short biographies of Swiss world citizens. He presided the association Suisse en Europe from 2014-2017 and was its honorary president. Bénédict de Tscharner passed away on November 12, 2019, in Geneva.