Second, in this book more than any other, Renault makes you feel the presence of the gods. She does this with subtlely, and one is always left wondering whether Nikeratos the actor is imagining (or, indeed, scripting) the voice of Apollo coming from his mask. But in his heart the reader knows that the voice is genuine and that it always leads Nikeratos to his best self.

Niko is an actor, reared to the craft from childhood, and the title of the book refers to an antique mask (Greek actors wore masks; none went barefaced on stage) of the god Apollo that he keeps at first for luck. Niko himself is a man who always seems to come out well of every situation; when the book opens, he is fatherless and working with a struggling troupe when his grace under pressure (Spartans are seen heading for the town he's in while he's acting in a play, and Niko continues acting to keep the crowd quiet) gives his career a boost. A rival's attempt to kill him some time later ends unsuccessfully, and this leads to his meeting with the man who becomes his hero and his shadow.

Dion of Syracuse, nephew to the tyrant Dionysius, is also a disciple of Plato. He is a Sicilian aristocrat, a man who seeks to lessen the tyrant's iron grip on the people of Sicily. Niko is awed by his presence and convictions, but clear-eyed when it comes to seeing how many of Dion's ideas--fed to him by Plato--will impact his craft and the society he moves in for the worst. Without ever saying so, Renault makes a stern criticism of Platonic philosophy, which is one of the beauties of the book.

The death of the first Dionysius and the ascendance of his son, the second Dionysius, are told by Niko in a voice by turns cynical and amused. Niko is a keen observer, and drops devastating sarcastic bombs with lethal accuracy. (His "toast" to Dion on discovering Plato's views on the theater is one explosive moment). But Dionysius II turns out to be worse than his father, and Niko finds himself supporting Dion even as he wonders if his friend and idol knows what he's getting into. The climax of the story shows Dion at the moment of his greatest glory--and Niko's wish for him is painful in its prescience.

"Mask's" central premise is how the powerful and the performers wear masks to woo an audience. Niko is fortunate; he knows when to woo and when to take the mask off and go home. Never taking his craft for granted, he not only likes his audiences, he understands them. Dion, on the other hand, sees himself as a liberator and teacher. His audience is the mob, and the mob are to be led like sheep. A man of dignity, Dion is willing to let the devotion of his people carry him to the highest rank, but once there he cannot take off his mask and stop playing the role he's set for himself. And so we wonder, who is more corrupt--the tyrant who crushes dissent with an iron fist, or the politician who promises freedom and then scrabbles for the safety promised by the tactics of the old regime?