Alexander the Great has conquered the Persian Empire and is marching eastward to India. In his wake he leaves small groups of Macedonian soldiers to wield military power over great tracts of land and diverse peoples. Nikometros, son of Leonnatus, is a young cavalry captain left behind in the province of Sogdiana, near the borders of the fierce nomadic Scythian horsemen. Captured after an ambush, he must fight for his life and the lives of his surviving men. With the aid of a young priestess of the Mother Goddess, he achieves a position of trust within the tribe. But not all Scythians welcome his presence. The chief's son sees him as a threat to his own position, and other Scythian lords have their own agendas. Nikometros must play them off against each other as he seeks an opportunity to escape. Complicating matters is a feeling of loyalty to the chief, and a developing relationship with the young priestess.