The Anvil of Navarre

Tristan Navarre is an alcoholic, veteran soldier haunted by torture. When his beloved nephew is kidnapped, Tristan is blackmailed into spying on his hero, the Duke of Arlienne, while on a diplomatic mission to prevent war. Tristan is torn between his loyalty and his secret assignment to discover whether the sword-wielding Duke is really a man, or a woman pretending to be one. If Tristan fails, his nephew will be executed.

Tristan's search for the truth reveals a plot to incite an invasion, assassinate a Queen, and usurp a throne. But who is it's author? Is it the pious archbishop who preys on children? The sleek and sadistic earl who craves power? Or is it the oh-so-reasonable younger brother of the King himself?

The tendrils of the conspiracy are far-reaching, entangling a one-armed girl surviving by her wits; a tailor's son who must prove his manhood by the sword; and a young Queen striving to save her country. Tristan's own journey brings him face-to-face with the torturer who has inhabited his nightmares since the war, and he is forced to examine his wounded life.

Leaping from the polished stage of a magnificent theater to the blood-soaked grass of a dueling ground, from the twisted alleys of a grimy city to the glittering throne rooms of three vying nations, The Anvil of Navarre is an epic tale of love, revenge and sexual identity.

A swashbuckling adventure story . . . with a twist.