SUMMARY: John the Eunuch, Lord Chamberlain to the Emperor Justinian, is skilled at keeping his footing on the treacherous slopes of court intrigue, but even he may slip when presented with a new and byzantine problem: why would a holy man high atop his pillar spontaneously combust and soon, other stylites burn to their deaths? John, still fresh from working a tricky murder case two years earlier in One For Sorrow, finds that his investigations are hampered by a pagan philosphy tutor from his youth and a heretical Christian prophet whose ultimatums threaten to topple the Empire. Then murder strikes close to home and John has only days to find a solution before he, his friends, his Emperor, Justinian, and the city itself are destroyed. The sumptuous halls of the Great Palace and the riot-torn streets are filled with danger and deception. Against this rich tapestry, a colorful cast of characters that includes a runaway wife, servants and soldiers, madams and mendicants, a venomous court page and a wealthy landowner or two--not to mention John's bˆte noire, the Empress Theodora--add texture to an exotic tale of sixth century life and mysterious death.