Born to the throne of Byzantium -- the New Rome -- Justinian II was determined to bow to no man. From the start of his reign he drove to expand Rome's rule, over the Arabs, the Slavs, and, most importantly, over the priests of the Eastern Church.

But, headstrong and stubborn, he eventually overstepped, and was overthrown by the nobles, on whom any emperor's reign depended. No one may rule Rome who is not a whole man ... so to ensure his powerlessness, his nose was cut off, and he was exiled across the Black Sea.

History records that Justinian made his way back to the New Rome, secretly constructing a network of alliances with outlying groups that would help him reconquer his throne. History does not tell us how he overcame his mutilation. In this gripping novel of one of history's most desperate and determined rulers, Byzantine expert H. N. Turteltaub brilliantly speculates how it might have happened ... and puts us in the middle of the dust, the color, the savory smells and roaring crowds, and most of all the blood and violence of Byzantium at its clangorous, glorious height.