A new civil war has begun: with the emperor Pertinax’s murder Marcus and his protector Scaurus have escaped Rome, seeking sanctuary for their familia in the East.

But they are soon pressed back into service by Septimus Severus, the ruthless commander who has seized the imperial capital and who holds the military balance of power over his two rivals.

Niger, the would-be emperor in the East, is on the march with six legions, and Scaurus’s legion is ordered to Thrace as a sacrificial advance guard, tasked with delaying them. Whatever the cost . . .

But times have changed. Marcus’s protector, the patrician legion commander Scaurus, has been summoned home by his mentor, a powerful senator who has decided he must act to save the empire from its debauched ruler’s reign of terror.

Rome is a hotbed of conspiracy and treachery: and the senator is not the only contender for power. The emperor himself plans to destroy those he mistrusts and no-one is safe.

Marcus is assigned his own, unique role in the conspiracy. He will become a gladiator once more. But this time, his only opponent will be Commodus himself . . .

Fresh from their victory in Germania, Marcus Aquila and the Tungrians have been sent to Dacia, on the north-eastern edge of the Roman Empire, with the mission to safeguard a major source of imperial power.

The mines of Alburnus Major contain enough gold to pave the road to Rome. They would make a mighty prize for the marauding Sarmatae tribesmen who threaten the province, and the outnumbered auxiliaries are entrusted with their safety in the face of a barbarian invasion.

Beset by both the Sarmatian horde and more subtle threats offered by men who should be their comrades, the Tungrians must also come to terms with the danger posed by a new and unexpected enemy.

They will have to fight to the death to save the honour of the empire – and their own skins.