Race of Scorpions - Dorothy Dunnett

PRINCES, MERCHANT AND MERCENARIES VIE WITH ONE ANOTHER IN SUBTLE INTRIGUE, IN BUSINESS VENDETTAS, IN FLAMBOYANT WAR ACROSS THE SMALL STATES OF FIFTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE. THERE ARE FORTUNES TO BE GRASPED – BUT NICCOLÒ, PRECOCIOUS HERO OF TREBIZOND, FORMER DYESHOP APPRENTICE AND WIDOWER OF MARIAN DE CHARETTY, HAS TURNED HIS BACK ON HIS FRIENDS AND THE BANK HE HAS FOUNDED. HE FEELS COMPELLED TO SEEK FREEDOM.

He is not to find it. Elusive, resourceful, with his own private army and a magical gift for affairs (in every sense), Niccolò is in demand. The sharp-witted Queen of Cyprus commands his service in a race for the throne against a dangerous rival. Whether he likes it or not, Niccolò is seduced into a contest between scorpions – whose sting can bring death.