A spellbinding yarn set a thousand years ago along the ancient Silk Road; by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay 'It's been a while since I had such fun reading a book' Daily Telegraph 'Readers might feel they have reached the book equivalent of the Promised Land' The Times GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD is set in the Kingdom of Arran; in the Caucasus Mountains; between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea; A.D. 950. It tells the tale of two wandering adventurers and unlikely soulmates; variously plying their trades as swords for hire; horse thieves and con artists - until fortune entangles them in the myriad schemes and battles that follow a bloody coup in the medieval Jewish empire of the Khazars. Hired as escorts for a fugitive prince; they quickly find themselves half-willing generals in a mad rebellion; struggling to restore the prince's family to the throne. As their increasingly outrageous exploits unfold; they encounter a wondrous elephant; wily Rhadanite tradesmen; whores; thieves; soldiers; an emperor; and discover the truth about their young royal charge. Beautifully illustrated throughout; this is a novel brimming with raucous humour and cliff-hanging suspense; combining the spirit of The Arabian Nights with the action of The Three Musketeers.