Luxurious yet curiously temporary - the existence of the career diplomat is a peculiar demimonde, replete with discretion, hushed favours and towering pyramids of most eccellente chocolate. Hygienic butlers, walnut-panelled lavatories and muffled, polite doorbells emerge from the shadows for a split second before vanishing once more into unseen spaces. Rarely does the spotlight fall on this occluded milieu. It is exciting, then, that this richly illustrated volume exclusively opens up an unhindered view of over 40 of the most lavish ambassadors' residences in the German capital. The spacious houses form a velvety parade of expensive and cultivated taste; over 500 illustrations of traditional, modern, opulent, refined but above all fascinating interiors await the reader who ventures behind the private doors of these national representatives. This book is not only for the diplomatic corps, but designers, merchants, allied tradespeople, lovers of fine design and anyone else who would normally be turned away with a snooty sneer.