September 1494 - Amid the chaos of Charles VIII's devastating invasion of Renaissance Italy, a squadron of Turkish galleys slips out of Istanbul under cover of night, and disappears west into the October storms. Aboard are three Turkish diplomats, a papal nuncio, and a fortune in gold ducats. The unforeseen consequences of their dangerous mission threaten to destabilize the papacy and alter the military alliances of Europe. A tale of seagoing adventure and actual historical events, The Sultan's Helmsman is also a philosophical novel exploring eastern and western ways of thought. Kachak -- the...