The story begins with a slave driver attempting to sell his latest finds, including a foreign captive known only as Lazar.

Hot tempered and confident, Lazar invokes his right to a fight to the death that, if he wins, will grant him his freedom.

Writing for The Sun-Herald newspaper, Genevieve Swart gave Odalisque a positive review, stating "the book races off to a good start, leaving us on tenterhooks awaiting the next page-turner", while also noting that McIntosh's "torture scenes might want to come with a warning, so horrifying are the descriptions of medieval-style brutality".

[2] Reviewing the novel for The Age newspaper, Cameron Woodhead described the series as "competent" and "fast-paced", but was critical of how accurately Islamic history was portrayed.

[4] In September 2006, it was rated as the seventh most popular fantasy novel in Australia by Nielsen BookScan.