The World's Desire begins with Odysseus utterly alone. His kingdom of Ithaca is an empty, abandoned wasteland. His beloved wife Penelope is dead. His patron goddess Athena has forsaken him.

But then Aphrodite visits Odysseus and sends him on a quest to find the world's desire, the face that launched a thousand ships: the woman he once knew as Helen of Troy. Armed with his legendary bow, Odysseus's final journey takes him to a court riven by murderous factions, ruled by a queen who is haunted by dreams of Odysseus's face . . .