Fifteen-year-old Boaz is the new Zar, freshly ascended to his throne. In the turmoil following the old Zar's death, courtiers jostle and conspire to secure their positions - not least his scheming mother, the new Valide. It seems his only genuine friends are Pez, his late father's mad jester; Spur Lazar, head of Percheron's security; and Ana, a golden beauty- the new odalisque purchased in the foothills as a slave for the harem. But can a madman, a soldier and a concubine be trusted to keep him safe from the Byzantine manoeuvres of his father's ambitious entourage?

This tale is the result of browsing through a centuries-old travel writer's account of his visit to Constantinople. He was particularly taken by the Topkapi Palace and the once-forbidden hallways of its Harem. I followed in his footsteps in 2004 with a lively, wonderful few days in Istanbul and experienced my own awe at this same palace ... a setting just begging to be absorbed into a fantasy tale.