Beautiful and heartbreaking … It is in the changing of one man … that one finds the most moving movements of the novel, as Antonin, the hasbeen clown, becomes a kind of hero of the human spirit. (Publisher’s Weekly)
The story is set in medieval Zagreb and deals with the conflict between love and cruel justice. The plot follows a young girl, Janja, whose beloved, Jurko, is unjustly convicted and executed on the false charge of murdering the son of a prominent citizen.
With exceptional narrative power, Coleen McCullough, one of today's most widely read writers, draws the reader into the vortex of chivalry, passion and opulence, which is called ancient Rome.