A young Englishman captured by slavers must survive the snakepit that is seventeenth-century Venice. 1604. Pirate raiders terrorise the coasts of Europe, seeking slaves to sell in the markets of North Africa. When headstrong Richard Sheriff and his beloved sister Elizabeth are torn from their Devonshire home by slavers, he is cast into a living nightmare. With Richard being a talented blacksmith, the pirate captain intends to sell him for a high price. He has other plans for Elizabeth. and once they are separated, Richard has no idea of his sister's fate. He is eventually sold into servitude in Venice: glittering, vicious city of secrets, where his talents find him apprenticed to a knife maker.

He vows he will never stop looking for his sister - but first he must survive that city of ghosts, where life is cheap, profit is all and escape nigh-on impossible. A powerful historical adventure perfect for fans of Ken Follett and Robert Harris. Reviews for David Gilman 'Gilman does heart pounding action superlatively' The Times 'A gripping chronicle of pitched battle, treachery and cruelty' Robert Fabbri 'The level of suspense is ratcheted up to a truly brutal level' Sharon Penman.