Tumanbay: the most magnificent city on earth. The beating heart of a vast empire. A city of dreams - where those who once arrived as slaves now reside in the seat of power.

But the wheel of fate is never still: from the gilded rooftops to the dark catacombs, there are secrets waiting to be uncovered.

For Gregor, Master of the Palace Guard, the work of rooting out spies and traitors is never done. His brother, the great General Qulan, must quell a distant rebellion. Whilst Shajah, chief wife to the Sultan, is suspicious that her new maid Sarah is not who she claims to be.

And a mysterious stranger arrives with a gift for the Sultan himself.

A gift that will change Tumanbay forever...