Gordianus the Finder unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dangerous situation when he accepts a commission in 80 B.C. to investigate the case of an Umbrian landowner who is accused of killing his own father.

"Following his international bestsellers Roma and Empire, Steven Saylor continues his saga of the greatest, most storied empire in history from the eternal city at the very center of it all. A.D. 165: The empire of Rome has reached its pinnacle. Universal peace-the Pax Roma-reigns from Britannia to Egypt, from Gaul to Greece. Marcus Aurelius, as much a philosopher as he is an emperor, oversees a golden age in the city of Rome. The ancient Pinarius...

"In 88 B.C. it seems as if all the world is at war. From Rome to Greece and to Egypt itself, most of civilization is on the verge of war. The young Gordianus--a born-and-raised Roman citizen--is living in Alexandria, making ends meet by plying his trade of solving puzzles and finding things out for pay. He whiles away his time with his slave Bethesda, waiting for the world to regain its sanity. But on the day Gordianus turns twenty-two, Bethesda is...