AD 37. The Roman Republic has become a true empire, stretching from Egypt to the sea coast of Gaul. Sixty million people live under its rule. A scribe in a noble household on the outskirts of the empire's greatest city, a young man who has no memory of his past or his family. Where freedom exists for the privileged few, he has only ever known a life of slavery. His name is Cormac. When Cormac's master dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, he finds himself furnished with documents freeing him from bondage. Surviving somewhere between slave and citizen, he quickly discovers the dangers that come with freedom. The city is a pitiless place for those without allies. But the winds of fate are shifting Cormac's talents -- his treasured ability to read and write -- will soon take him from city slums to the mines of Gaul, to the island of Britannia and back to the hills of Rome. Slave, scribe, soldier -- Cormac will have to play Rome's most dangerous game if he's to secure wealth and power. For in this city, with skill, ambition and luck, perhaps such things can be won.