Hilary Bailey has reinvented the history of the Trojan Wars, and in this first of two linked novels she tells a new story of Cassandra. Legend has it that Cassandra died at the hand of Clytemnestra after the death of Agamemnon, but Hilary Bailey images that she escaped and in turn wrote her own history of the fall of Troy. It is a magnificent story of the battles and long siege of the city of Cassandra's own journey through hostile country to plead for the help of the Hittite allies. The author takes us into the heart of Troy and conveys a strong sence of time, place and history.