YEAR OF THE BEAR is the fifth volume in the continuing saga of Justin and Sophie Cataphlates, a very unlikely husband-and-wife crime-fighting team. The book is set in the year 1005, where Justin is now master of commerce of the Roman Empire (which we now call Byzantine), while Sophie continues as chief lady-in-waiting and best friend to Princess Zoe, the oldest daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII, who, with his older brother Basil II, reigns in Constantinople.

This book sees our intrepid couple on the road to Kievan Rus, where murder and intrigue await them as they come to the rescue of Basil and Constantine's sister. Before then, they must deal with an assassin who targets visiting Italian diplomats, a giraffe accused of murder, the foibles of a teenage princess, and their own family life. As always, the Fatimid caliph is lurking in the shadows!