From award-winning author and "gifted literary talent" Sandra Worth comes a heart-wrenching Arthurian tale of love, sacrifice and breathtaking bravery. Drawn from a dark corner of history that rivals the fall of Troy, here is a new look at the age-old mystery of why Rome fell when victory was almost theirs.
Gallant Emperor Constantine is in the fight of his life. A mighty sultan rules half the world and is coming for what is left of Rome. Constantine's only consolation is the duke's daughter, Zoe (aka Anna) who has adored him since childhood. She becomes his inspiration and secretly his empress, but the secrecy takes a toll. Reviled as a whore by her peers, she feels an outcast among the nobility. Yet she must find strength in herself not only to endure what she must, but to give of her strength to Constantine.
All seems hopeless. Then a princely hero brings much needed help. But Justiniani, the man who can have any woman he wants, falls in love with Zoe, the secret empress of Rome, the only woman he cannot have. Now, in the last moments of the last battle, he and Constantine face an impossible decision, one that could cost them Rome -- and the woman they both love.
"Lavish... Captivating... A stellar job. The scope is vast, and the plot far richer due to its historical context... Zoe in particular comes alive in the author's skillful hands while the historical settings and examination of the fall of Imperial Constantinople are equally authentically crafted. A highly memorable read." --The BookLife Prize
"A stunningly detailed epic replete with human passions and deep-rooted courage...[B]rings readers front and center into a major turning point in history." -- ALA award-winning Booklist reviewer Sarah Johnson for Reading the Past
"[A] riveting tapestry of the love at the heart of Constantinople's fall." -Washington Independent Review of Books
"A love story for the ages... sweeping and unforgettable." -RECOMMENDED, The U.S. Review of Books
