What's It About?

1100 BC

As a boy, Akhaïdes Outlaw fled Greece after murdering his older brothers so inexplicably and savagely that he earned a place in the pantheon of legendary monsters. Now, forty years later, he returns, desperate to win absolution. Untouchable, unstable, barely human, he wants nothing to do with the complications of the era but is caught up in them anyway, first through the need to protect his only surviving brother, then as the unwilling tool of those who are most involved in either driving or resisting the looming collapse of the Mycenaean empire.

Those who use him – the vicious old High King Orestes; Orestes’ sole living heir, Tisamenus; the charismatic challenger, Temenus; Temenus’ powerful sister, Makhawis; even the Great Serpent of Delphi – must radically reassess their needs, their desires, and even their identities because of the objectives Akhaïdes relentlessly pursues, either on their behalf or in their opposition. More than any king or conqueror, this pariah’s ruthless sense of responsibility gives new shape to a world that does not want him, but that only he can save.

To accomplish this, an intensely secretive man must unravel the puzzle of his own identity and become outlaw and kingmaker; cripple and healer; slave, warlord, and consort of a goddess; lover of a splendid woman and a peerless king; thief, rapist and murderer; opium addict, horse tamer, lion killer, and High King.