The exhilarating follow-up to Pat Barker's The Women of Troy and The Silence of the Girls
'Brilliant masterful . . . Barker strips away the glittering armour of myth' Guardian After
ten blood-filled years the war is over. Troy lies in smoking ruins as the victorious Greeks
fill their ships with the spoils of battle. Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan
women captured by the Greeks - among them the legendary prophetess Cassandra and her watchful
maid Ritsa. Enslaved as concubine - war-wife - to King Agamemnon Cassandra is plagued by
visions of his death - and her own - while Ritsa is forced to bear witness to both Cassandra's
frenzies and the horrors to come. Meanwhile awaiting the fleet's return is Queen Clytemnestra
vengeful wife of Agamemnon. Heart-shattered by her husband's choice to sacrifice their eldest
daughter to the gods in exchange for a fair wind to Troy she has spent this long decade
plotting retribution in a palace haunted by child-ghosts. As one wife journeys toward the
other united by the vision of Agamemnon's death one thing is certain: this long-awaited
homecoming will change everyone's fates forever. 'The queen of literary historical fiction
Barker is an unflinching guide for a trip across ancient Greece' National Geographic
'Astonishingly fresh . . . Pat Barker is one of the finest novelists working today' Alice Winn
author of In Memoriam SHORTLISTED FOR THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2025
