Gemini — Dorothy Dunnett

With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccola series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire.

In Gemini, the stunning finale to the series, Nicholas is at peril for his life. It is the year 1477, and he returns to Scotland, the country whose economy he nearly devastated four years earlier, in search of personal redemption and a haven for his recently reunited family. Friends and foes from many a past adventure converge on the scene as Nicholas becomes swept up in a political maelstrom involving the Scottish royal family. With tensions escalating and the secrets of his heritage emerging, the unflappable Nicholas -- valiant soldier, charismatic romancer, relentless entrepreneur, royal confidant -- finds that peace can be the most elusive achievement of all. Infused with wit and poetry, emotion and humor, action and mystery, Gemini confirms Lady Dunnett's rank among the most exalted authors of historical fiction.