Captives of the Corsairs: Book Three: The Adventures of Baltasar Albueno

In the summer of 1505, Baltasar and his wife and business partner, Sheba of Tigre, are living settled and productive lives in a resurgent post-war Naples. It all comes to an abrupt end with an inexplicable act of betrayal leading to their abduction by Barbary pirates. They embark on a harrowing new life of adaptation and survival, first as slaves, and then renegades and apostates in the great North African city of Tunis, serving the interests of the pirate community and their financial backers.

They begin to see larger forces at work behind their abduction when their old Turkish spymaster helps them flee through the Libyan Desert to the troubled Egyptian city of Alexandria. From there it is but a short jump to Cyprus, where the network of great power interests in which they are unknowingly enmeshed finally becomes apparent. Theirs is a rich cultural and religious journey—from the dar al-Harb of Christian modernity through the dar al-Islam of Muslim North Africa. It is also an intensely personal journey for Baltasar and Sheba, from friendship to love, and finally into the larger and more challenging reality of parenthood and family.