This biography investigates the life and phenomenon of Edward John Trelawny - writer, adventurer, romantic and friend to Shelley and Byron. Trelawny's is a story where the boundaries between fantasy and reality were blurred with fatal consequences. It is a story inextricably linked with Byron, and with the Greek War of Independence - a war which provided both Romantic Europe and Edward Trelawny with their most extravagant challenge. The story of Trelawny's role in the war, his cave, and his discovery of Odysseus' treasure has all the ingredients of a Byronic romance. It is a story of betrayal and greed, of deluded idealism and physical courage played out against one of the most ferocious wars even the Balkans has seen.