Far to the East across the sparkling waters of the great Mediterranean Sea, the formidable Turkish Ottoman Empire was secretly planning to add to centuries of expansion. Soon, they would begin the invasion and conquest of Christian Europe. But first, the Ottoman's Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent knew he must destroy the last Christian bastion which stood in his path, the Maltese stronghold... garrisoned and defended by the noble and devout warrior monks of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem... The cruel and terrible siege of Malta raged through the long hot summer of 1565, when the great Caliph unleashed a massive invasion force of 40,000 fanatical shock troops, intent on conquering Malta before invading poorly defended Christian Europe. A heretic English Knight - Sir Richard Starkey becomes embroiled in the bloody five month siege which ensued; Europe's elite nobility cast chivalry aside, no quarter asked or mercy given as rivers of Muslim and Christian blood flowed...