It is 89 BC. In the West, the corrupt Republic of Rome is collapsing. On the shores of the Black Sea, the brilliant and ruthless King of Pontos sees his chance to restore the Greek and Persian Empires his ancestors ruled.

Makaria and Datames are the unlikely team that must break a spy ring at the heart of power in Pontos. One is a schoolteacher and a Pontian spy. The other is a brilliant mathematician and the troubled heir to a noble old Persian name. Both are keeping secrets from the other that could be the key to the code, but honesty could destroy everything they love.

Set in a time of dazzling discoveries, sumptuous art and brutal conflict, this intricately plotted thriller brings a lost kingdom to life.

At the heart of Datames and Makaria's stories is a war to control the truth itself – how we see the world and who we think we are.

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