From her home in the distant north, Pelia, daughter of Talakhonsu, continues the story of the world her father knew, a world dominated by the Persian Empire, where the past glories of ancient Egypt are already fading into history. Talakhonsu, a slave from the kingdom of Kush, escapes his captivity on the farm of Siamun the overseer and finds freedom as an oarsman on a Greek trading ship bound for the great Middle Seas. As Talakhonsu forges a new life of adventure for himself, the dark clouds of war are gathering in the north. The Persian King Xerxes is plotting a massive invasion of the Greek mainland to crush once and for all the defiance of Athens and Sparta. Only the gods know what fate will await Talakhonsu and the crew of the Kallisto in the times that are to come. For readers who appreciate David Gemmell, Wilbur Smith and Bernard Cornwell. ‘Beyond the Pyrene’ is Book II in The Chronicles of Talakhonsu and follows on from Book I, ‘Beyond the Black Earth