609 AD. Rome is torn apart by war, plague and internal power struggles between the Emperor, the aristocracy and the Church. Into this morass stumbles the young and handsome Aelric.His father was murdered, his inheritance stolen. Forcibly separated from the woman he loves, he is determined to win back all that he has lost.Through his naivety and ambition, he unwittingly becomes involved in a heretical plot that will lead to fraud, murder and high treason.