In the treacherous corridors of 8th-century Constantinople, where power is won through cunning and ambition, a young woman is destined to shape the fate of an empire.

Amidst the intrigue and dazzling splendor of 8th-century Constantinople, Irini of Athens, breathtakingly beautiful and fiercely ambitious, catches the eye of Emperor Constantine, who brings her to the Great Palace—not only to wed his frail and ineffectual son, Co-Emperor Leon, but for himself as well.

Yet Irini is no mere consort. Beneath her radiant charm lies a ruthless and fierce
hunger for power.