As he grows older, Alex Melas becomes determined to uncover the true story of his grandfather's grandfather. He has heard much about this remarkable ancestor and sets out to learn more about the man known as Heinrich. When Heinrich was eight years old, his father would read to him each night from Homer's Iliad. The boy would imagine the ancient city of Troy vividly, dreaming of its lost grandeur and the landscape that once surrounded it. But when Heinrich turns ten, tragedy strikes. His mother dies of grief after learning about her husband's long-time affair, and Heinrich is forced to leave school due to financial hardship. For years, the dream of Troy seems lost. But thirty years later, as many men do at the age of forty, Heinrich remembers the passion of his youth. Now a wealthy man, he sets off in search of the ancient city. To the world's astonishment, he finds it. Yet in uncovering Troy, Heinrich discovers something even more profound: he finds himself.