Elektros is literally in chains and  completely at the mercy of Parizad One Eye, Satrap of Sardis, whose impossibly seductive wife bears a decades-long grudge against Elektros. As he waits to be summoned to the Great King's court, Elektros is sent on a near-suicidal mission to prove himself--which he actually does too well. After surviving Parizad One Eye's hospitality, he is at last summoned to the Great King's court, where he immediately impresses and is befriended by the Great King, but his troubles have just begun. Unskilled at gossip and palace intrigue, Elektros learns too late that it is dangerous to be the Great King's enemy, but even more dangerous to be the Great King's friend.
 
Marcellus Durrell brings ancient history to life with an engaging voice and a distinctly jaded view of humanity, and reminds us that nations are sometimes led by fools and that this is hardly a new problem.