'A beautifully woven tale with brilliant, confident writing, [Heywood] has illuminated the stories of ladies too often relegated to the role of villain or damsel' CLAIRE M ANDREWS

The King of Tyre is dead, his final words anointing his clever and strong-willed daughter, Elissa, as the new queen until his young son, Pygmalion, comes of age. But betrayal and danger soon haunt Elissa, and she is forced to flee the kingdom - exiled with a band of loyal followers and a broken heart.

After an arduous search for a new home, Elissa and her people settle in North Africa, and she is crowned Queen Dido: the ferocious and devoted ruler of her newly established city of Carthage. Soon a trading empire, Carthage thrives under Dido's governance.

But when a band of Trojan survivors, led by the valiant Aeneas, washes up on a nearby shore, Queen Dido is reminded of a promise she made long ago, never to trust or to love another again. Can Dido overcome her past and open herself - and her city - up to Aeneas, or is their love doomed to burn everything to the ground?