About the book: 2024 / Alexandria, one of the cities founded by Alexander the Great, stood for centuries at the crossroads of East and West, in the heart of modern Afghanistan. Then the city disappeared: only in the 19th century did Charles Masson, a deserter of the East India Company army, an inventor, an archaeologist, inspired by the story of the legendary king, follow its trail. Starting his archaeological research, Masson had no idea that he was destined for a role in incredible events. “Masson had to beg by the road and drink tea with the rulers, see what had never before appeared to the eyes of Europeans, and from an ordinary soldier become one of the greatest archaeologists of its time. He will devote his life to the search for Alexander the Great, and this search will take him through the snow-capped mountains, reveal to him secret palaces with jewelry and a lost city covered by the sands of Afghanistan. He will unearth priceless treasures and witness unspeakable atrocities. He will decipher a language forgotten more than a thousand years ago. The most powerful empires in the world will blackmail and persecute him. He will be sent to prison for treason. He will be offered to rule the kingdom. He will change the world, and the world will destroy him.” (Edmund Richardson)