Basil of Makri - a sardonic, irascible old man, once immensely rich and powerful, wakes to discover he is locked in a dark, airless cellar. Basil's isolation and dreams revive charismatic ghosts from his past who force him to relive the glories, betrayals and tragedies of his colourful life. Only his sharp wit and sardonic humour keep him sane. His fate is bound up with that of Bernard of Chevreuse, a poor but pious French archer who joins the Fourth...