From the first breath of her life, young Princess Selene understands herself to be a cherished daughter and the future queen of Egypt. But when Alexandria falls and her parents are forced into suicide, the once-pampered princess and her two surviving brothers are left at the mercy of their captors and dragged through the streets of Rome in chains. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and is suspect of her faith, Selene struggles for survival in a court of intrigue. She can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, nor can she stop the Roman emperor from using her powers for his own ends.

Faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother's dreams and succeed where she failed. But there's no telling what success will cost her in a treacherous political game where the only rule is win or die....