The adventures of Samak, a trickster-warrior hero of Persia's thousand-year-old oral storytelling tradition, are beloved in Iran. Samak is an ayyar, a warrior who comes from the common people and embodies the ideals of loyalty, selflessness, and honor--a figure that recalls samurai, ronin, and knights yet is distinctive to Persian legend. His exploits--set against an epic background of palace intrigue, battlefield heroics, and star-crossed...