This is artful storytelling at its finest with a rich narrative tapestry full of eloquent prose and poetic imagery. The book will keep you enthralled from beginning to end - Sunday Observer. Kasyapa is the illegitimate son of a king and a village girl. On his mother's untimely death, he is plucked from his tiny village and brought to the royal palace. Shunned by his father, the king, this lonely little boy is raised by royal courtiers. As an adult he is sidelined, but fate intervenes. The villainous Migara, the chief of the army and Kasyapa's nemesis, murders the king and implicates Kasyapa in this ghastly crime. Even though his lowly birth denies him the right to inherit the throne, Kasyapa must act to save the kingdom. What events unfold next drive him to build the spectacular palace in the sky at Sigiriya and rule as a god-king? This is also the story of Amira, a beautiful red-haired, blue-eyed girl, who is only twelve years old when her father sells her into slavery. At eighteen, she is traded for a hundred pearls and joins Kasyapa's harem. In her new home, Amira finds happiness. She is transformed from an ignorant and unloved slave girl into a sophisticated and alluring concubine. With her stunning beauty, wide-eyed innocence, and good heart, Amira soon captured the king's heart. But fate has other plans for these lovers. Sigiriya is a hauntingly beautiful story of palace intrigue, love, deceit, betrayal, and tragedy. Set in the fifth century and based on real people and events, it reminds us that little has changed over the centuries. Good and evil, love and hate, decency and cruelty are ever-present. But some, by the sheer strength of character, rise above their stations and do great and wonderful things.