Before the Trojan War.... Sparta and Troy are in bitter conflict, but they are perfectly matched. Their very religions seem to be at war. They are kept from total warfare by more cautious allies. However, Troy has developed a secret weapon that promises to change the precarious balances. During this chaos, Odysseus and Penelope grow up, are thrown together, fall in passionate love and marry. Along the way, they must grapple with the contrivances of Helen, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Paris, Ajax, the indomitable Achilles and the gods themselves. Spurred on by the Olympians, war breaks out. The world is primitive. Life is cheap and merciless gods use humans as valueless pawns.