The basis of this book is Heskel's belief that Philip II's policies regarding Athens cannot be properly understood without a thorough investigation of the preceding events of the 360s, and what Heskel describes as the `hitbed of diplomatic and military activity' that was the North Aegean in that period. By making the region, rather than the actions of any one power the central focus of the study, Heskel aims to fill in the gaps left by previous writers on the subject.