Beneath a sky ruled by superstition and the iron fist of empire, one woman inherits a secret that could shatter the world.
Lisbon, 1497. Isabella de Santos, daughter of a murdered royal cartographer, discovers a map fragment that whispers of impossible voyages and forgotten histories - evidence that Chinese fleets charted the globe decades before European "discoverers" dared to dream of new worlds. This single piece of vellum is the key to a conspiracy that spans oceans and centuries, a truth so dangerous the shadowy "Compass Rose" organization will spill oceans of blood to keep it buried.
Thrust into a relentless chase from the haunted archives of Sagres to the fever-ridden decks of mutinous ships, and the sacred, hidden temples of the Taíno, Isabella must navigate a treacherous world of spies, assassins, and ambitious colonizers. Her only allies: a cynical Converso navigator with a penchant for truth, an enigmatic Italian banker playing a deadly game of shifting loyalties, and an indigenous priestess guarding the memories of her people.
As Isabella uncovers evidence of sophisticated navigation, cross-cultural contact, and systematic suppression of knowledge that rewrites the very narrative of the Age of Exploration, she faces an impossible choice: join the conspirators who offer power and protection, or ignite a revolution that could liberate knowledge but unleash chaos upon an unprepared world.
From the author of Between Worlds: The Impossible Life of Yasuke
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comes
The Compass Rose Conspiracy
, a sweeping historical epic where the lines on a map hold the power to topple empires, and the most dangerous voyage is the pursuit of truth itself. Can one woman, armed with her father's compass and an unyielding spirit, redraw the boundaries of history before those who profit from lies erase her, and the truth, forever?