Blurb taken from inside dust jacket cover:

“Meet Lucian, an engaging young bean counter who’s about to be put to death by a pair of villainous soothsayers. His headlong escape proves to be a collision course with Joy-in-the-Dance, a girl of marvels and mysteries—sometimes hotheaded, sometimes affectionate, but always spirited and resourceful. And the trio is completed by Fronto, a poet turned into a donkey, whose loyalty is as strong and tough as the hide of a jackass.

“Add a king disguised as a peasant and a peasant who could be a king, a self-exiled seaman and a runaway goat-boy, horsemen as swift as the wind, and wise-women who can conjure snakes from the air—these are the Arkadians, a cast of remarkable characters weaving their way through danger, daring, and romance in Newbery Medalist Lloyd Alexander’s epic new novel.

“Steeped in myth and magic as old as the ancient Greeks but sparkling with wit and wisdom as fresh as tomorrow, this is an unforgettable storyteller’s tribute to the most time-tested and marvelous of tales.”

This book is in hardcover.