686 AD. The Byzantine Empire is a shattered rump. The armies of Arabia have overrun its African and Syrian provinces. Meekal the Magnificent, the Greek turncoat who rules Damascus, dreams of conquering Constantinople itself. Far off in the wastes of Jarrow, old Aelric writes his memoirs and waits for death. Little does he expect a double siege, a kidnapping, a near-fatal chase through the ravaged Mediterranean and a confrontation at the end of this that will settle the future of mankind. Will age have robbed Aelric of his charm, his intelligence, his resourcefulness,or of his talent for cold and homicidal duplicity?