An ex-harem slave...

A reformed assassin...

A race to find the most powerful

religious artifact of all time...

New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen returns with her first historical romance in a decade, a new novel of passion and exotic adventure that leads two unlikely and unforgettable treasure hunters on a perilous journey—and into the heart of one of the most captivating mysteries of all time.

Lady Selene Ware had been nothing more than a harem slave when Kadar Ben Arnaud—a man once trained in the black arts of death and seduction—helped her escape to the safety of her native Scotland. But even a world away she still wasn’t safe from the sheikh who claimed her as his stolen property—and who now forced both her and Kadar to return with a chance to win their freedom. There is, of course, a catch. First they must find the legendary religious relic that men of power have searched for from King Arthur’s time to the present.

For Selene and the ex-assassin, it is a dangerous odyssey that begins in erotic captivity and leads to an encounter with the mysterious and reclusive Tarik, who now possesses the treasure. But the truth is far more explosive, the stakes far more deadly, and the closer they come to discovering the secret, the closer they will come to losing each other—and their lives. For even as Selene grasps the key to this age-old mystery, Kadar may have to step over the fine line separating the dark path from the light to save her.