Imagine a world where Rome never fell. Now the Empire stretches across the Atlantic. Slaves are constructing a giant bridge over the Persian Gulf. Magnetic railways span the globe. But political tensions are growing at home and abroad, and one man's ambition is about to change the face of the earth. A massive explosion at the Coliseum kills the Emperor Faustus, making his nephew and heir, Marcus Novius, the new leader of the Roman Empire. Marcus, the healer Sulien and Una, his sister - and Marcus' own love - have been together through thick and thin, fighting for freedom, fighting for their lives, fighting for justice. Marcus' ascension to the Roman throne was supposed to be the start of something magnificent ...But Marcus himself is horribly wounded in the explosion, and Sulien is having problems fighting his way through the terrible devastation to get to his friend, the new emperor. It's not long before Sulien and Una realise the explosion did far more damage than just killing the old emperor, and life is never going to be the same again.