When Germanic troops in the service of the empire begin to rebel, and a Roman general disappears, Emperor Vespasian turns to the one man he can trust: Marcus Didius Falco, a private informer whose rates are low enough that even the stingy Vespasian is willing to pay them.
To Falco, an undercover tour of Germany is an assignment from Hades. On a journey that only a stoic could survive, Falco meets with disarray, torture, and murder. His one hope: in the northern forest lives a powerful Druid priestess who perhaps can be persuaded to cease her anti-Rome activities and work for peace—which Falco is eagerly hoping for as, back in Rome, Titus Caesar is busy trying to make time with Helena Justina, a senator’s daughter and Falco’s girlfriend.
Lindsey Davis is an English novelist of historical fiction and best known for her award-winning historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire, the acclaimed Marcus Didius Falco series and the Flavia Albia series. Her novels have won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award and in 2011 the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association for lifetime achievement. Born and raised in Birmingham, England, she read English at Oxford and worked for the civil service for thirteen years before becoming a writer.View all by Lindsey Davis
