In the first of an extraordinary series from bestseller S.J.A. Turney, the fate of Empire hangs in the balance…

Istanbul, 1481: The once great city of Constantine, a strange mix of Christians, Turks and Jews, now forms the heart of the Ottoman empire. The conquest, still a recent memory, means emotions run high; danger is never far away.

Skiouros and Lykaion, sons of a Greek farmer, are conscripted into the infamous Janissary guards and taken to Istanbul. As Skiouros escapes into the Greek quarter, Lykaion remains with the slave chain, becomes an Islamic convert and guards the Imperial palace.

But one fateful day Skiouros picks the wrong pocket and begins to unravel a plot reaching to the highest peaks of Imperial power. He and his brother are left with the most difficult decision faced by a conquered Greek: is the rule of the Ottoman Sultan is worth saving?