**Discover explosive action and white-knuckle drama in the spectacular second instalment in Harry Sidebottom's vivid five-part series, perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell

AD256. The spectre of treachery hangs ominously over the Roman Empire.**

The sparks of Christian fervour have spread through the empire like wildfire, and the imperium is alive with the machinations of dangerous and powerful men.

All the while, Sassanid forces press forward relentlessly along the eastern frontier.

When battle-bloodied general Ballista returns to the imperial court from the fallen city of Arete, he discovers that there are those who would rather see him dead than alive.

Soon caught in a sinister web of intrigue and religious fanaticism, Ballista's courage and loyalty will be put to the ultimate test in the service of Rome and the Emperor . . .

The Warrior of Rome is back.

**Praise for Harry Sidebottom

'Sidebottom's prose blazes with searing scholarship'** Times

'The best sort of red-blooded historical fiction' Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy