Empire of the Clouds: A conquest for Gold is an action packed novel about the Inca Empire. This sweeping saga follows historical events that actually happened over five hundred years ago. Filled with action and suspense, it will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. When the leader of the Incas and his appointed successor die from smallpox, the empire is plunged into a brutal civil war that lasts almost five years. As the two brothers fight to be the next leader, the dreaded smallpox disease ravishes the countryside. When the war is finally over and the disease has run its course, the Inca Empire has been brought to its knees. But events go from bad to worse when the Spanish invade the empire. Just ten years after Cortez conquered the Aztecs, Fernando Pizarro and his one hundred and sixty-seven conquistadores capture a kingdom of over 10 million people. The Spanish are brutal in their conquest, and the Incas have no answer to the Spanish steel weapons and cannon. As the Spanish systematically loot the country of gold and silver, an Inca general hides over 700 tons of gold and silver from the Spanish. This gold has never been found and is believed to be hidden in an inaccessible region of the Andes. Amidst all the fighting and intrigue in the royal Inca court, a beautiful young woman has to flee to save her life, but she is relentlessly hunted by the two royal brothers who have their own reasons for capturing her. One wants to force her to marry him while the other wants her dead.