Left at a loose end after the shattering conclusion to his Trebizond venture, assorted people seek to induce Nicolas to lend them his talents, and Nicholas refuses all of them, choosing instead to join his company's mercenary leader, Astorre, in fighting the war in Naples. Kidnapped and taken to the island of Cyprus, Nicholas is initially steadfast in his refusal to support either side in the war of succession between Queen Carlotta and the pretender, James, but soon finds various reasons, mostly cynical, one of them plain revenge, to pick a side, assuming he can keep himself and his army alive long enough. 

Action, adventure, schemes and plots, high and low romance, family feuds and epic battles and highly devious murder attempts enliven his stay in Cyprus, but then these sorts of things tend to follow him around, or lie in wait for him. Brilliantly entertaining.