Publisher's Synopsis
It was a most unusual meeting, a sixteenth century fairytale. Two splendid young people: A chivalrous officer, tutored and trained at the imperial court in Vienna and a beautiful young maiden able to ride a horse and shoot an arrow like any of the best in the army. Both born into Hungarian nobility, neither of them submissive or cowed. One a fervent Protestant, the other a devout Catholic; one seeking liberation for his nation, the other in pursuit of a normal happy life and a harmonious family. A young Ottoman soldier of Moslem faith and a wealthy Venetian marquis merge with the two. A trace of romance, a touch of love, given to passion and driven by values, the story plays between the two mightiest empires on earth which threaten to crush them in the clash between their own selfish aspirations. Would love, faith and friendship be able to conquer hatred, abuse and sexual exploitation? Caught in the conflict between the Christian world in the west and the surging insatiable Moslem Ottoman Empire in the east, they fight and suffer for their values, thereby crossing borders, spanning countries, traversing cities from Vienna to Constantinople, from Rome to Ferrara and Venice in their quest. Facing terror from many quarters, they experience a kaleidoscope of adventures in a century marked by cruelty, rape, treachery, murder and hypocrisy. Christianity divided and Islam united, their world explodes in a plume of greed and hatred, revenge and retribution. Slaves and eunuchs, chivalry and barbarism, romance and suspense -- a journey of unbelievable escapades and exploits in the midst of courtiers, rogues, prostitutes and aristocrats. Altogether an unforgettable story before the backdrop of historical facts. An action-packed epic sometimes grandiose, often sensual, always compelling. A fascinating account of heroes and villains amidst powerful adversaries.
