Themes of paranoia, and the duality of the twin sisters, are paramount in this story but it also includes elements of the conflict between barbarism and civilization that is common to the entire Conan series.

Conan's crucifixion early in the story during the second chapter ("The Tree of Death") is considered one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series.

Salome has conspired with a voivode named Constantius, also known as "The Falcon", the Kothic leader for an army of Shemitish mercenaries, to take over the city of Khauran.

The Khaurani army is disbanded and replaced by Constantius' Shemitish mercenaries, an event which turns violent when the captain of the queen's guard, Conan the Cimmerian, refuses to obey Salome's order.

After putting his back against a wall while killing a number of Constantius' warriors, Conan is finally captured and crucified for his defiance.

Olgerd Vladislav, the Zaporoskan leader of a band of Zuagir desert raiders, is riding by with his scouting party and discovers a crucified Conan a mile outside the city walls.

Vladislav then refuses to give Conan any water, claiming the Cimmerian must wait until after a ten-mile trek towards their outlaw camp to prove himself worthy of his band.

Citizens are killed, tortured, or sold as slaves; heavy taxes are imposed; and women are frequently debauched by the Shemites.

Conan has been expanding the numbers of Zuagirs as Vladislav's lieutenant, while also secretly establishing communication with some Khaurani Knights who had become refugees.

The Shemitish mercenaries ride out of their city for an open-field battle, with Constantius expecting only the lightly armed Zuagirs, but are taken by surprise by the Khaurani cavalry hidden amongst them.

With Conan's forces approaching Khauran, Valerius plans to rescue Taramis and reveal the conspiracy to his people or to escape with the true queen.

When it becomes apparent that Conan has defeated Constantius' Shemites, Salome decides to kill Taramis before his army can reclaim the city.

Conan, as chief of the Zuagirs, drives away the remaining Shemites (capturing Constantius in the process) and leaves to raid the nearby kingdom of Turan.

[3] Farnsworth Wright, editor of Weird Tales, was running out of Conan stories which were growing in popularity and attracting new readers to the magazine.

[3] Howard had recently finished the Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon, which was not intended for publication in Weird Tales and the story previous to that, "The People of the Black Circle", was already scheduled for August.

"[3] Robert Weinberg concurs, mentioning the "best scene in the entire Conan series", but comments that the remainder of the story is only average.

[4] However, Weinberg criticizes the fact that much of the action takes place offstage, for instance, being related to the reader through a letter from the otherwise unseen Astreas or through a priest communicating with Salome.

Austin Spencer noted [5] that: "The Crucifixion of Jesus has left a deep mark on all members of Western culture, regardless of whether or not one be a Christian believer.

I was both impressed and appalled by Howard's achievement - creating a full-fledged Pagan counterpart and total antithesis to the New Testament account.

This god, Crom, offers neither physical deliverance not spiritual solace - he merely endows Cimmerians with enormous strength and tenacity to fight.

A version of the story that was edited and altered by L. Sprague de Camp appeared in the collection Conan the Barbarian (Gnome Press, 1954).

The original script for the film, written by Oliver Stone, was based on this novella and another Conan story, "Black Colossus", and re-set in a post-apocalyptic future.