How far will his loyalty go?

The year is 1191, and for young knight Will Bowman, newly restored to the service of King Richard 'the Lionheart', the savage conflict in the Holy Land continues unabated. In the wake of their victorious siege of Acre come battle after battle, with the forces of Christendom locked in deadly struggle against the might of the great sultan, Saladin.

By a miracle, Will and his loyal companions Gabriel, Samson and the rest of his unlikely gang of comrades have managed to survive this far. But as the slaughter rages on there seems to be no end in sight. To make matters worse, even when the fighting in the Holy Land is finally winding to a close - for now - the skullduggery of traitors conspiring against Richard's kingdom back home threatens the outbreak of yet more brutal and bloody wars to come.

Torn between his own destiny and his allegiance to his king, Will must somehow find a way out. But just as he might have discovered peace at last, his world is turned upside down once again by the appearance of a surprise visitor bringing shocking news from abroad. Now it's King Richard's life that is hanging in the balance, and it seems that Will is the only man who can save him.

To do that, Will and his companions must embark on their most dangerous voyage yet, penetrating deep into the heartlands of a ruthless foreign power to launch a covert rescue mission. The potential rewards are huge . . . but the chances of success are minimal, and it's more likely that Will and his friends are walking into a death trap. Is his loyalty to King Richard strong enough to die for him?

Scott Mariani is the author of the bestselling thriller series featuring ex-SAS hero Ben Hope. Scott's novels have topped the charts in his native Britain and are translated into 25 languages.

Scott was born in Scotland, later studied at Oxford and ended up living there. Deciding after university that a career in academia didn't suit him, he pursued his ambition to write for a living.

During what turned out to be a long process of reaching that goal, he worked in various jobs before eventually leaving Oxfordshire and moving to the tranquil and beautiful setting of rural west Wales.

The first Ben Hope book, The Alchemist's Secret, went on to spend six straight weeks at #1 in the charts and sell publishing rights across the world. Every book since has been a bestseller.