Jeanite knight Petr of Michalovice has completed his pilgrimage to the Holy Lands and is returning to his homeland Bohemia. During his journey, he stops in Constantinople. It is the year 1265 and the Imperial City had been liberated just four years earlier from the Franks. Chrysostomos Ptochos, chief secretary of the Patriarch of Constantinople Joseph Galisiotis, is found murdered and all suspicions fall on the crusader, who is sentenced to death. Only one hope remains for the condemned man: the intervention of the powerful Order of the Knights of St. John, to which he belongs. They bribe officials and secure the permission of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos to have the case re-examined by officials of King Ottokar II of the Premyslid dynasty of Bohemia. Due to the complex geopolitical situation, the Byzantine emperor has no reason to refuse such a favor to the accused, a close friend of the Bohemian king. Thus, a delegation from Bohemia departs for the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which, of course, will include Oldrich of Chlum. Michael VIII grants him investigative powers; however, in a world built on intrigue and betrayal, the royal procurator must constantly balance on the edge between life and death…
In the seventh book of the medieval mystery series "The Cases of Royal Judge Oldrich of Chlum," titled "In the Shadow of Byzantium," the protagonist finds himself at the heart of medieval Hellenism amid a turbulent period. The widely read Czech author Vlastimil Vondruska returns with a new mystery involving the intelligent and experienced royal judge, which he dedicates to the Greek reading audience.
