It is 334 BC. Alexander has smashed the armies of the great king, Darius III, at the battle of the Granicus and is roaming the Western Persian Empire picking off the cities one by one like a hungry predator, living up to his nickname of "the Wolf of Macedon".Arriving at one of his prizes, the great city of Ephesus, the success of his campaign is threatened by a series of violent murders brought about by a high-ranking Persian spy known only as "the Centaur". Worse, one of Alexander's old tutors, Leonidas, is found floating face down in a stagnant pool at the House of Medusa - and this doesn't look like an accident, since the house of Medusa is linked with a guild of assassins which formerly flourished in Ephesus. Alexander, meanwhile, is preoccupied with finding a deep-water port for his ships on the one hand; on the other, he is equally concerned to have the famous artist, Appelles, design a breathtaking portrait of himself to be placed in the Temple of Artemis, patron deity of Ephesus.So once again Alexander's friend and physician, the level-headed Telamon, must take it upon himself to unravel this swirling mass of blood-strewn mysteries, this time working hand in hand with the king's eerie Master of Secrets, Aristander. As always one of the biggest obstacles is the volatile and unpredictable nature of Alexander himself, a consummate actor whose lust for power and glory matches the carnage and intrigue that dog his footsteps like the Furies themselves. Read Less