In November 1589, the Venetian representative of the German Fugger bank sent his weekly report to his employers in Augsburg. Instead of the usual economic, political and commercial news, the report was devoted to a single extraordinary event: the arrival in Venice of a Cypriot alchemist named Marco Bragadino, who was said to be “capable of turning common metals into gold.”

The Soul of Gold is based on the true story of a young adventurer from Famagusta, Cyprus, who, after the fall of his city and the Ottoman conquest of the island, sets out on a journey through the courts of Europe. With a borrowed name, a ring set with a red tourmaline, and an abundance of resourcefulness, courage, intelligence and audacity, he travels through the great cities of sixteenth-century Europe, unsettling the courts of the nobility and offering hopes and promises.

Historical figures—some famous, others almost forgotten—cross paths with the fictional characters of The Soul of Gold, together creating a portrait of post-medieval Europe at a time of transformation and rebirth.