The Roman North Cotswolds, Summer AD 370. In the dying years of Roman Britain's golden age, a great villa stands in a sheltered coomb near a vineyard on the western edge of the hills. Canio now owns this villa estate, bought with illicitly acquired gold. And with the villa came his mistress, the beautiful and enigmatic Trifosa. Antoninus has just inherited magnificent Villa Censorini, where he and Trifosa once lived when they were children (and then lovers?). Now returned after seven traumatic years in the army, he is about to host a splendid homecoming party. Canio and Trifosa are both invited. And then, riding slowly up the coomb out of the golden light of the setting sun, comes the government agent Macrinius Lunaris - and walking unseen beside him is the daemon Thanatos, whom the Greeks knew as the bringer of death...