Second novel in this storming Roman epic: Dr Harry Sidebottom is a leading authority on ancient warfare and he applies his knowledge with great flair for explosive action and knuckle-whitening drama. It is AD256 and the spectre of treachery hangs over the Empire. The battle-bloodied general Ballista returns to the imperial court from the fallen city of Arete, and is soon caught in a sinister web of intrigue and religious fanaticism. 'Sidebottom's prose blazes with searing scholarship' "Times"