When a young man named Darius hears the story of Angelica, a young woman trapped in an abusive relationship with her father, he sets out on a boat bound for the Mediterranean. To his surprise he finds himself travelling backwards over two thousand years to a world of pirates and shipwrecks, of plagues and miracles and angry gods. Moving seamlessly between the past and the present, the Whitbread Award-winning author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time conjures the worlds of Angelica and her would-be savior in thrilling fashion.

"Haddon's ambitious tale captures the ethos of tragic Shakespearean vibrations and the tangle of lives that magically intersect. The prose is exquisite and elevates this story that blends reality and mythology to great effect."—Publishers Weekly