"During a visit to the Sultan's palace, Vivian Pearse-Packard, newly married to the embittered son of a British ambassador, is invited to enter the harem, a cloistered realm of concubines and watchful eunuchs where the seductions of passion and power are played out against a backdrop of luxurious decadence. There, she must peel away the veils of secrecy to embark on a perilous journey of self-discovery. But is the lure of a forbidden world worth the ultimate price?" --cover blurb.