Rhodes: part five of a fast-paced serialised novel set in the turbulent Europe of the fifteenth century. A young Englishman, Tom Swan, has been ordered by his Cardinal to find a spy - a traitor. At the same time, a rich merchant has offered him a great deal of money to - well, to steal something. Something that belonged to Alexander the Great. Suddenly he's not a thief or a merchant or a scholar: he's a 'donat' or volunteer with the Knights of St John, the famous 'Hospitallers', and he's in the middle of a losing battle to hold the Aegean against the Turks. He'd like to steal the ring, kiss the girl and catch the spy, but there's a war on...

Fifteenth Century Europe. Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

1450s France. A young Englishman, Tom Swan, is kneeling in the dirt, waiting to be killed by the French who have taken him captive. He's not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

Chios: part six of a fast-paced serialised novel set in the turbulent Europe of the fifteenth century. A young Englishman, Tom Swan, finds himself in the midst of the Turkish siege of one of the richest islands in the Genoese Empire. Swan's biggest problem is that he hates the Genoese a good deal more than he hates the Turks. Despite which, he has to catch the spy, steal the ring, kill the traitor and, if possible, rescue the princess. Or maybe just bed her. All in the line of duty, of course. So he can get home to the Cardinal, his boss, and his wife, the most beautiful woman in Italy. Suddenly he's a knight, a man of action, a leader of men. And none of those are roles he asked for. From the Knights of Rhodes to the court of Mehmet II and Pope Pius II, Swan has to use his sword - and his wits - just to stay alive. And married.

Fifteenth-century Europe. Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

Fifteenth-century Europe. Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

Fifteenth Century Europe. Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.