Malta, Summer 1551. Here, in a brilliant arena clouded by corruption and violence, Lymond is precipitated into an intricate and potentially lethal duel with a man famed for his leadership, his courage, his saintliness - Graham Reid Malett, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta. Malett holds in his sway the hearts and minds of many men and so, in another fashion, does the dangerous and beautiful child-woman, his sister. It seems that Lymond must either be seduced or destroyed.