The islands at the entrance to Panama Bay faded out of sight as a small caravel ventured alone toward an unknown expanse of ocean in November 1524. It was the worst time of the year for sea voyages, but Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro, and their small band of threadbare companions were determined to find Peru, the legendary Land of Gold.

They made three such journeys, each time battling Indians, tropical jungles, stormy seas, starvation, and disease, before they reached the coast of Peru. Encouraged there by native reports and this sight of gold trinkets, Pizarro and Almagro marched in the Andes Mountains seeking the Inca emperor. They met in the little city of Caxamarca, and this meeting -- one of the most dramatic in history -- initiated the astonishing collapse of the vast Inca empire.

In this exciting story of exploration and conquest, Ronald Syme describes in vivid terms the courage and tenacity of two men who, under impossible conditions and against great odds, helped to open up the treasury of the New World.

From the book