Three years after a conspiracy against his life forced him into hiding, the young heir to the throne Marcus Novius must take command of the greatest power on Earth. But his ambitious cousin Drusus - spurred on by a riddling Sybilline prophecy - threatens this last chance to avoid a world conflict and Una, a former slave whose love for Marcus seems out of place at the Roman court, is drawn into the political intrigue and a dangerous enmity.



Though many of Marcus' friends and supporters are scattered, he can rely on the driven, sharp-witted Una, her idealistic brother Sulien, now working to relieve the suffering of slaves and Varius, wounded and disillusioned by the past but still committed to the vision of a better Rome.



But even these three will find their lives at risk and their loyalties tested...