First published 2008
Alexandra Solarin arrives at her family's Rocky Mountain retreat for her mother's birthday celebration, only to discover that Cat Velis has vanished. Strategic clues and mysterious houseguests signal danger. Her aunt Lily Rad reveals that the most potent piece from Charlemagne's ancient chess service has emerged from hiding, reigniting the deadly Game her parents thought they had ended thirty years earlier. Alexandra's search leads her from Colorado through the Russian wilderness to Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, in 1822 Albania, young Haidee receives a perilous assignment from her father, the powerful Ali Pasha. With Turkish forces closing in and the sultan's wrath mounting, she must transport a precious relic through treacherous mountains and across seas. Her route takes her from Albania to Morocco, Rome, and Greece as she becomes entangled in the same ancient Game. Both women's journeys converge on revelations about the chess set's origins in thousand-year-old Baghdad, where the service first gained its mysterious power.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, global-conspiracy
Setting: Albania, Colorado, Greece, Morocco, Rocky Mountain, Rome, Russia, Washington D.C.
Period: 1822, 1980s, 2000s
451 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books