"It is 1836. Europe is modernizing, and the Ottoman Empire must follow suit. But just as the Sultan plans a series of radical reforms, a concubine is strangled in the palace harem and a young cadet is found butchered in the streets of Istanbul. These murders threaten the subtle balance of power in the Sultan's court. Who is behind them? Only one investigator can find out: Yashim Togalu, a man both gifted and near-invisible in this world. You see, Yashim is a eunuch." ---COVER.