Menedemos was born with enough confidence for three men, and he can switch from threats to charm and back again. But he can also be foolhardy--for instance, risking everything for the chance at another man's wife. Sostratos can perform unheard-of feats with numbers, he knows the old histories and the natural sciences--but he lacks the common touch and, Menedemos would say, common sense. Each of them has strengths the other lacks. Now, in the troubled waters off of Sicily, they face a chance at untold riches...if they can evade the massed strength of the Carthaginian fleet.