Im Jahr 334 v. Chr. erringt Alexander der Große einen glorreichen Sieg über den persischen König. Doch während der blutigen Auseinandersetzungen von Ephesus trachtet ihm ein geheimnisvoller Spion nach dem Leben. „Ein lebendiges historisches Porträt, glaubwürdige Figuren, ein sympathischer Held.“ THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
Im Jahre 334 v. Chr. befindet sich Alexander der Grosse mit seinen Truppen am Hellespont. Auf dem Gipfel seiner Macht blickt er der Eroberung Asiens entgegen. Doch als sich in seinem Lager mysteriöse Morde ereignen und dem feindlichen Perserkönig Darius strategisch wichtige Informationen zugespielt werden, vermutet Alexander einen gefährlichen Verräter in den eigenen Reihen. Da eilt ihm sein Leibarzt und treuer Jugendfreund zu Hilfe. Telamon setzt alles daran, die Identität des geheimnisvollen Spions zu lüften.
It is 334 B.C. Alexander and his troops have crossed into Asia and shattered the Persian army at the battle of the Granicus. Marching south he has conquered all in his path, including the great city of Ephesus. But he knows, and his enemies know, that the great prize is the city of Halicarnassus, strategically important and with fortifications to make any attacker despair. Alexander, by now famous as the "Great Besieger of Cities" must take Halicarnassus. The city has a link with his own past and his difficult relationship with his father; he needs to prove something to himself.The city's commanders, Alexander's old enemy Memnon of Rhodes, the Persian Orontobates, and the Greek renegade, Ephialtes, plot to ensure that Alexander will meet his nemesis at their gates. Fortifications are redoubled and a trap is prepared. This time, surely, they will bring down the "Macedonian Wolf" and bring his dreams of conquest to nothing.Alexander's court is set up close to the city, and his physician and boyhood friend Telamon is there. Even as Alexander brings up his troops for one of the most dramatic confrontations in the ancient world, a series of brutal killings begins, proving that the Persians have infiltrated the court. While his lord prepares for the fight of his life, Telamon enters a maelstrom of murder and intrigue. He must go through "The Gates of Hell" to find the traitors and protect Alexander - but all the while the evercunning Alexander keeps his counsel and pursues his own plans to foil his enemies.