A Nick Zuliani Mystery set in Kubilai Khan's court - Cathay, 1268. Nick Zuliani, Venetian adventurer and newly appointed Investigator to the Mongol Emperor, is sent to investigate a murder in a remote town. But Nick soon realizes that he has been sent on an impossible mission by a deadly rival – for a girl has confessed to the crime and is due to be beheaded. If Nick uncovers the truth, and saves her life, he risks undermining the local Mongol governor, with terrible diplomatic consequences. He will have to use all his wiles if he is to escape the trap laid for him.