Rome, AD 34. While the Emperor Tiberius indulges himself in Capri, his cruel and self-serving regent Sejanus rules in his place. It is a time of tyranny and terror. Once a charioteer but now a hunter providing wild animals for Rome's voracious Games, Serpicus longs for a quiet life. But Sejanus' uncle has made him an offer he cannot refuse. He must journey north, over the Aips, deep into Germany where the tribes are in revolt against their Imperial oppressors, and there take possession of an exceptionally rare but dangerous beast. To his companions, the mission is suicide. To make matters worse, it seems Serpicus has made a deadly enemy of the man who now leads the legions against the tribes and that there are others who will stop at nothing to ensure he and his colleagues fall. Not least the traitor in their midst. Now, inside a village a long way from home and facing a Roman army set on revenge, Serpicus is trapped. The family he adores is held hostage in Rome but the first woman he ever loved stands, sword drawn, ready to fight and, should the gods will it, die by his side. He has choices to make, but no time to make them... Ringing with the cacophony of battle, of steel against steel and the cries of men, this enthralling historical adventure recounts one man's struggle to protect those he loves, whatever the cost.