Venice in the early 15th century is at the height of its power. In theory Duke Marco commands. But Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They command the seas, tax the colonies, and, like those in power before them, fear assassins better than their own . . .On the night their world changes, Marco's fifteen-year-old cousin is praying for deliverance from a forced marriage. It is her bad fortune to be alone in the chapel when Mamluk pirates break in to steal a chalice, but it is the Mamluks' good luck - a Millioni princess is a much greater prize. In the gardens behind the chapel, Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, dispatches his latest victim. Having cut the man's throat, he hears a noise and turns back. He finds a boy crouched over the dying man, drinking from the wound. The speed with which the boy dodges a thrown dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. And the assassin knows he has to find the boy. Not to kill him, but because he's finally found what he thought he would never find. Someone fit to be his apprentice . . .