The Portuguese are caught up in a long deadly struggle for supremacy of the spice trade.Magellan and his comrades are soon thrust into major battles in India, Malacca, and Morroco,and with each new mission they are placed in contact with the bizarre customs of the localpopulace. In the port of Cochin, India, Magellan discovers a variety of Hindu religions, a largecommunity of diasporic Jews, a sect of Nazarene Christians established by Saint Thomas, andmore clues to the location of the fabled Christian sovereign, King Prester John.Magellan and company fight in the four-month siege of Malacca. Emerging victorious, andwith great spoils of war, the years of service to the crown have proven fruitful. But, with thesinking of Albuquerque’s 400-ton Flor de la Mar, Magellan’s share of the vast treasure onboard is lost to the deep.After serving in the Portuguese navy for nearly a decade, under the commands of bothAlmeida and Albuquerque, Magellan returns to Lisbon, a wounded veteran, destitute butunbowed. With King Manuel’s continued opposition, Magellan is hard pressed to find themeans to fulfill his dream, of reaching the fabled Spice Islands themselves.