The Lost Army - Valerio Massimo Manfredi

Ten thousand indomitable warriors .. and a single woman in love

401 BC. After thirty years of war, the city-states of Greece ate on their knees. As they flounder, Clearchus of Sparta is commissioned to recruit an army of Greek mercenaries. Their true purpose is unclear. They know they must venture deep into the hostile heart of the Persian Empire. They know Cyrus, brother of the great Persian king, Artaxerxes, is their paymaster, But their official objective – clearing the area of rebel tribes – convinces no one

The expedition is shadowed by another army of women, which includes Abira, a Syrian girl. She has abandoned her village to follow the young Greek warrior, Xeno, who appeared to her like a god on horseback from the heavens, offering the promise of love, of adventure, of a different life…