When Nicostratus was a baby he lived in Greece with his father Menelaus, his mother Helen (who was renowned for her beauty) and his sister Hermione. One day when he was just two years old, he was carried off with his mother by a visiting prince, Paris of Troy. The Greeks had always distrusted the Trojans and the kidnap became the excuse for long and bitter wars which lasted ten years.

Nico, brought up in Troy but nourished on stories of Greece, hardly knows which side he belongs to. He finally swears total allegiance to Greece when Paris betrays the hero Achilles. From then on his life becomes a mixture of adventure, intrigue and a secret plan to destroy the 'luck" of Troy and admit the avenging Greeks.

The siege of Troy is probably one of the most famous Greek legends. This retelling is an exciting blend of fiction, fact and legend and manages to convey vividly the spirit of ancient Greece.

From the introduction inside the paperback edition