This is a love story like no other. It is set in a time when courage and honor were defined by
piracy, duels, and religious wars. The siege of Malta by the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent
in 1565 is one of the most lopsided battles ever fought, pitting a few hundred crusader knights
against the full might of the Ottoman empire at its peak. The hero of that siege, Jean de
Valette, was highly honored for his strength and valor by the popes and kings of his time. He
was known as fearless and unbending, austere and uncompromising. But, according to this
novel, he had one weakness. And that weakness was love. A genuine and tender but
heartbreaking and forbidden love.