London: Michael Joseph, 1989. dj. Hardcover first edition - True first edition of the 3rd book in this gripping and highly praised series of historical novels, set in 15th century Renaissance Europe and feauturing Nicholas de Fleury (formerly vander Poele) of Bruges, a good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the head of a mercantile empire. Massive epic: 534 pages. Map endpapers of the Levant - Rhodes, Cyprus - and Southern Europe in 1462. Attractive dustjacket with wraparound painting by Nicky Palin. ISBN: 0-7181-32092.