Constantinople, December 27, 537, the day of the inauguration of the Great Church. John, a close associate of its architects, is found murdered. All indications point to Theano, a former student at Plato's Academy and a close friend of the victim. Eutokios, a man who has dedicated his life to collecting and preserving the works of Archimedes, takes on the task of solving the case: is the young mathematician truly guilty, or has she fallen victim to a well-orchestrated conspiracy? Historical figures such as Theodora and Justinian, and fictional heroes meet and interact to bring to life the atmosphere of the transition from Late Antiquity to the first Byzantine golden age. Ancient philosophy is dying, but it bequeaths its acquired wisdom to the new world: its geometry and mechanics. Without these, wonders like the Church of Hagia Sophia would never have come to fruition. In the foreground of this peculiar conflict, the myth unfolds through scandals, abuses, bigotry, and, above all, through the eternal struggle for power.