In the first volume of the brilliant Sarantine Mosaic, master storyteller Guy Gavriel Kay crafts a mesmerizing story of an awe-inspiring city and the people drawn into its spell.After losing his wife and daughters to the plague, a grieving artisan, Crispin, receives a summons from the emperor and reluctantly embarks on the long journey toward the imperial city of Sarantium--the golden heart of an empire. Despite its perils, the allure of Sarantium's glory draws travellers and