the system of the world by neal stephenson

Unbeknownst to all, it is love that set the Coiner on his traitorous course the desperate need to protect the woman of his heart - the remarkable Eliza, Duchess of Arcachon-Qwghlm - from those who would destroy her should he fail.

Hostilities are suddenly moving to a new and more volatile level, as Half-Cocked Jack plots a daring assault on the Tower itself, aiming for nothing less than the total corruption of Britain's newborn monetary system. It is a secret war between the brilliant, enigmatic Master of the Mint and closet alchemist Isaac Newton and his archnemesis, the insidious counterfeiter Jack the Coiner, a.k.a. No sooner has Daniel set foot on his homeland when he is embroiled in a dark conflict that has been raging in the shadows for decades. But while much has changed outwardly, the duplicity and danger that once drove Daniel to the American Colonies is still coin of the British realm.

Aging Puritan and Natural Philosopher, confidant of the high and mighty and contemporary of the most brilliant minds of the age, he has braved the merciless sea and an assault by the infamous pirate Blackbeard to help mend the rift between two adversarial geniuses at a princess's behest. The world is a most confused and unsteady place - especially London, center of finance, innovation, and conspiracy - in the year 1714, when Daniel Waterhouse makes his less-than-triumphant return to England's shores.

The system of the world by neal stephenson