The Silk Tree (Unabridged ed)

Forced to flee Rome, merchant Nicander meets an unlikely ally in the form of Marius, a fierce Roman legionary.

Escaping to a new life in Constantinople, the two land upon its shores lonely and penniless.

Needing to make money fast, they plot a wicked plan to steal precious silk seeds from the faraway land of Seres, Nicander and Marius must embark upon a terrifyingly treacherous journey across unknown lands, never before completed.