The Turks curse the Knights of Saint John the Baptist as he "Hounds of HellW." The knights call themselves "The Religion." Suleiman the Magnificent, emperor of the Ottomans, has declared a jihad against these knights, the noblest warriors in Christendom. As the largest armada of all time approaches the knights' stronghold on the islan of Malta, the two Peoples of the Book prepare for a final glorious battle for God's favor.
Only the mad or the holy would willingly choose to set foot on the island.
French countess Carla La Penautier is neither--she is desperate, determined to find the son taken from her at birth. By her side is the only man with the expertise and daring to help her, a Rebelaisian solider of fortune and arms dealer, Mattias Tannhauser. In the middle of the most spectacular siege in military history, the strapping Saxon and the beautiful Frenchwoman must find one twelve-year-old boy--whose name they do not know and whose face they have never seen--and pluck him from the jaws of Holy War.
Part I A World of Dreams
Part II Maltese Iliad
Part III The Winnowing Winds
Part IV By Dens of Lions Encompassed
Part V Bloodred Roses
Epilogue The Grace of God