In the elegant yet treacherous world of seventeenth century Venice, young nobleman Orio Soranzo has squandered his fortune, his reputation, and the patience of those who once championed him. Only by marrying Giovanna—the brilliant, beautiful heiress he adores—can he regain both fortune and favour.

Seeking to reclaim honour in an age shadowed by war, Soranzo hurls himself into perilous ventures against the Turks—unaware that his quest for redemption will entangle him in a web of lies, shifting alliances, and dark deeds.

As pirates stalk the seas, Giovanna dares to join Soranzo at the forbidding island fortress he commands. Swept into a storm by the arrival of an old friend, fate unleashes a terrible reckoning none could foresee.

Bringing this long forgotten jewel of early nineteenth century historical fiction to English readers for the first time in more than a century, Lynne Forest’s vivid new translation restores a tale of passion, intrigue, and conflict that pulses with the energy of a glittering Venice that was once at the centre of the world.