On Ithaca Queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. In her husband Odysseus' absence following the Trojan War Penelope uses her cunning to keep the peace but this is shattered with the arrival of Orestes King of Mycenae. Orestes is mad. Guilt-ridden after killing his own mother he grows ever more unhinged. To protect him from the ambitious men of Mycenae his sister Elektra brings him to Ithaca to recover. But his uncle Menelaus king of Sparta hungers for Orestes' throne - and if he can seize it no one will be safe from his violent whims. Caught between Sparta and Mycenae Penelope must protect Ithaca from two mad kings on the edge of war. Her only allies are Elektra desperate to protect her brother and Helen of Troy Menelaus' wife. The women's secrets will shape the world. . .

Part of the Penelope series.