In three volumes, The Course of Fortune A Novel of the Great Siege of Malta, follows the adventures of a young Spanish soldier-of-fortune Francisco de Barai over the course of fifteen of the most turbulent years in the most turbulent century in history, adventures that climax in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. During that most momentous of all sieges, tens of thousands of Turks descend on the island, defended by some 600 Knights of Malta and another few thousand mercenaries and Maltese civilians. The horrific and heroic events are recounted with the utmost attention to historical accuracy, just as the entire escalating chain of events is played out against a finely researched tapestry of Renaissance values, superstitions and culture.