Arethusa

Carlo Zeno, a scar‑marked Venetian of twenty‑nine, has traded swords and gambling tables for the quieter life of a merchant in 1376 Constantinople. He lives in the old city, deliberately eschewing the bustling Genoese quarter of Pera, whose language, food and customs he finds intolerable. From his balcony he watches the Golden Horn, his mind haunted by the bitter memory of past betrayals and the fierce desire to carve a new destiny.

When the story opens, the Genoese have just backed Emperor Andronicus in a ruthless coup, imprisoning the reigning monarch and his brothers in the towering Amena tower. Zeno’s old grievances flare as he confronts the shadowy alliances that threaten the fragile peace of the city’s diverse quarters. Caught between his hatred for the Genoese and a growing sense of duty, he must decide whether to stay a quiet trader or plunge back into the dangerous world of intrigue.