The third part in a Byzantine trilogy, featuring an interesting but little-known period of history. A young boy is captured by Barbarians, castrated, raised with girls and bought by a noted scholar because of his feigned knowledge of a barbarian language. Zeno, the castrati, develops a natural intelligence, but is drawn into a labyrinth of sex, heresy, murder and plotting. An army general, a bisexual boy emperor, a peasant usurper and a half-Viking empress all compete for authority, but real power lies amongst the decadent eunuchs of the palace. Young Zeno plays more and more dangerous games until he is forced to betray those he loves.
