Tom Beckerlegge

Tommaso Cellini, celebrated ruler of Cadenza, is dead. For Carlo Mazzoni, an aspiring poet, it is the worst possible moment to arrive at the city gates, his dreams of literary fame turning to disappointment and disgrace. For Vittoria – known to all but a handful as the notorious ink maid Hypatia – Tommaso’s death is overshadowed by the disappearance of her creative spark, while Vittoria’s impulsive sister Maddelina seeks to make her own name with a daring conspiracy.As Cadenza descends into anarchy amid rumours of war with its rival Venice, Carlo and the two sisters become entangled in intrigue, murder and revolution.

A City of Poets and Dreamers, Liars and Cheats…Tommaso Cellini, celebrated ruler of Cadenza, is dead, and the city mourns. For Carlo Mazzoni, an aspiring poet, it was the day of his arrival in the City of Words and the end of his dreams to walk side-by-side with the great man, two artists together.For Vittoria — known to all but a handful as the famed ink maid Hypatia — the death of a ruler is less troubling than her sadness and inability to write. Without it, her admirers will leave her, and with it her livelihood.With its ruler dead, the city plunges into turmoil amid rumours of war with its rival Venice. Surrounded by murder, intrigue, revenge and revolution, they must rely on new friends and sinister acquaintances to find their paths to freedom.