Second volume of the Marc of Ashes trilogy. Marc, a local sheriff, has been pressed into service in a far away land. he is leading a relief column tot he City of Constantinople. arriving just as the siege begins, he is able to lead his troops and refugees int o he city. there, he has sealed his fate with the embattled forces he was sent to save. Marc must now confront the dire circumstances which doom his mission and perhaps condemns his lover and friends, and cohorts. He battles conflicts of honor and mission both within himself and without. will he lose all to the whims of history? two empires clash, two civilizations decide his fate and all who fight with him.