Xanthe and Marpessa may have been on the sidelines during the famed Battle of Troy, but they are front and center in this richly detailed young-adult novel that begins ten years into the war that was the subject of Homer’s epic The Iliad. The two adolescent sisters work within the walled city of Troy, Marpessa as a maid to the infamous Helen and Xanthe as a nurse who cares for wounded soldiers carried in from the battlefield, as well as for Hector and Andromache’s infant son. From this vantage point they not only see the destructive effects of the war but they also have frequent encounters with the Olympians, Aprohodite in particular, who constantly interfere in the lives of mortals. True to the spirit of the Greek classics, the lives of many are intricately interwoven in a complex tapestry set against the backdrop of history and featuring mature themes. (Age 16 and older)

The siege of Troy has lasted almost ten years. Inside the walled city, food is becoming scarce and the death toll is rising. From the heights of Mount Olympus, the gods keep watch. But Aphrodite, goddess of love, is bored with the endless, dreary war. She turns her attention to two sisters: Marpessa, who is gifted with god-sight and serves as handmaiden to Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world; and Xanthe, who is kind and loving and tends the wounded soldiers in the Blood Room. When Eros fits an arrow to his silver-lit bow and lets it fly, neither sister will escape its power.