The tale of a forgotten crusade, erased from history because it fell into the shadow of the devil. Jerusalem is in the hands of Sultan Ab’dul Razim, and the Christians have raised an army to take it back, led by Grégoire of Arcos and the Duke of Taranto. Only Gauthier of Flanders and his sister-in-law Syria of Arcos are opposed to an attack they deem premature. But the stench of brimstone covers everything, and in a war fought in the name of God, it is the Qua’dj, a demon, who could decide the fate of the Holy Land…

The Crusader army has been destroyed by the terrible Simoun Dja, the desert wind. Gauthier of Flanders has gone to look for the Jews of Samaria, possible allies to retake Jerusalem. But the Holy Land is rife with plots and counterplots. Christians and Muslims alike are torn by internal conflicts. And behind it all, pulling strings and offering temptations, one creature: the qa’dj—the demon that crept at the foot of the Cross.

With the Master of Machines as their new leader, the Crusaders are ready to assault Jerusalem once more. The Sultan must now choose between his love for a Christian princess and his faith. And Gauthier of Flanders, to free his ally Osarias’s Jewish people, will have to confront the last part of his mysterious past, a Jinni. As the final battle is joined, truths will be revealed on the nature of gods and demons and the ambitions of men.

With the Master of Machines as their new leader, the Crusaders are ready to assault Jerusalem once more. The Sultan must now choose between his love for a Christian princess and his faith. And Gauthier of Flanders, to free his ally Osarias’s Jewish people, will have to confront the last part of his mysterious past, a Jinni. As the final battle is joined, truths will be revealed on the nature of gods and demons and the ambitions of men.

The crusade is over, and relative peace has returned to the Holy Land, yet the magic and afflictions that permeate it haven’t gone away. When Gauthier of Flanders, now a wandering knight, stops in a caravanserai and gives water to a Christian woman prisoner of the Order of Assassins, he has no idea what evil is about to be unleashed upon the world … nor that he will once again have to stand against a deadly demon.

Gauthier is in Acre, awaiting the arrival of Sybille, his sister – a woman with a scandalous reputation he hasn’t seen in many years. Meanwhile, the Assassins, working for the Djinn Ottar Benk, are still after him, convinced that he is in possession of the dangerous ‘treasure’ that Benk covets. To force the knight to show himself, they begin to foment trouble in the city, held by the Christians.

In spite of himself, Gauthier has returned to Hierus Halem, both to accompany his sister Sybil, who is seeking the ugliest man on Earth, but also to continue the fight against the Qa’dj, whose breath is once again plaguing the land. Unfortunately, the man Sybil is after is Guy of Lusignan, a brutal, fanatical lord whose actions are rekindling the conflict between Christians and Muslims. Caught once again in a world of violence, Gauthier will owe his survival to an old friend …

Gauthier and Osarias have reached Jebel Tarr, the city of the Flagellants, where the Breath of the Qa’dj now resides. They want to extinguish it forever, but can such a demon ever be destroyed? Meanwhile, the machinations of Guy of Lusignan, his thirst for power and blood, have brought the Cross and the Crescent to the brink of renewed war, one that only Syria of Arcos, torn between her feelings for the Sultan and Gauthier, can still prevent – maybe …