Rosemary Rowe

This is a compelling new mystery for Libertus, set against the backdrop of the Roman Empire in turmoil ... An astonishing new order has usurped power in Rome and the reverberations are reaching even to Glevum, where the legion is preparing to depart. Libertus' wealthy patron, until recently one of the most influential men in the Empire, finds himself not only deprived of the privilege and protection he had previously enjoyed, but under actual threat...

"Glevum's dignitaries are in a spin. The wealthy Voluus, ex-lictor to the Imperial Governor of Gaul, has decided to retire to the town and invitations have been issued for a welcome feast. How to respond and, more importantly, where do the ex-lictor's riches come from? Libertus' patron, local magistrate Marcus Septimus Aurelius, sends him on a mission to find out" --Jacket.

April, CE 194. The tensions in the civil-war-torn Empire have come to Glevum now. Libertus's patron, Marcus Septimus, has received a letter from Druscilla Livia, a widowed cousin of his wife, seeking his protection. She has received an offer of marriage from a powerful Roman Senator, Hortius Valens, a man of cruel and unusual tastes, and she is in no position to refuse. She has run away . . . with Hortius in hot pursuit. This puts Marcus in a dangerous...

Having been inveigled into standing for the local curia, responsible for the submission of all local tax, Libertus discovers that any shortfall must be made good by the councillors themselves. So when news arrives that a tax-collector from a nearby outpost has committed suicide, having gambled everything away, Libertus is despatched to make enquiries, in the hope of recovering at least some of the missing revenue. He has also been asked to attend...