In this 3rd Theo Vardas adventure, the Byzantine detective is hunting a wooden chest. The twist is it contains something valuable, but "valuable" is estimated differently by certain people. Corrupted authorities and clergy, his usual enemies, money and gold at stake, the terrible Turk always next to him, a new member arrived to be added to the "agency". Historical events and non-fictional persons are accurate, yet the book remains fictional and Noirish, with the hard-boiled shamus and all. It's neither Dashiell Hammett nor Raymond Chandler yet it tries to keep up with History and provoke the reader's curiosity to look up for more. The era of the Byzantine empire, is an era of 1500 years of carnage, debauchery, corruption and blood, too much of it. Arrogant, ignorant, opportunists, criminal mass murderers seized the throne and the power with it followed by immoral priests to lead the poor people directly to death. Not a dull place for a sleuth to live and work.