Travis is the son of a British servant of the Emperor who has been rewarded with a farm in North Africa, the granary of the Empire. But when his father is murdered, Travis goes to Carthage in search of the killers. There he finds his brother is involved in a sadistic cult, but he finds help from a respected Christian merchant. Travis soon falls in love with Lydia, the merchant's daughter, but marriage seems out of the question as her family are determined she should marry a Christian. Meanwhile, the hunt for the killers seems to point to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), so he sets off on a hazardous voyage across the Mediterranean. Things get no better when he arrives as he finds himself condemned to the salt mines from which there is no escape. Action and high drama are the hallmarks of this riveting thriller.