Francis Crawford of Lymond meets the deadliest of all his enemies, a man who holds the hearts and minds of others in his sway, a man who is famed for his leadership and courage but whom Lymond knows as truly evil - a story of corruption, vengeance and violence that begins when the Turkish fleet puts to sea in the summer of 1551 Its target is the very heart of Christianity, Malta, home of the Knights of the Order of St John