Promoted to the elite Praetorian Guard in the thick of battle, a young
legionary is thrust into a seedy world of imperial politics and
corruption. Tasked with uncovering a plot against the newly crowned
Emperor Commodus, his mission takes him from the cold Danubian border
all the way to the heart of Rome, the villa of the Emperor's scheming
sister, and the great Colosseum.
What seems a straightforward if terrifying assignment soon descends into
Machiavellian treachery and peril as everything in which young Rufinus
trusts and believes is called into question, and he faces warring
commanders, Sarmatian cannibals, vicious dogs, mercenary killers and
even a clandestine Imperial agent. In a race against time to save the
Emperor, Rufinus will be introduced, willing or not, to the great game.