It is the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. The days are short; the nights are for wi
ld parties. A general has captured a famous enemy of Rome, and brings her home t
o adorn his Triumph as a ritual sacrifice.
The logistics go wrong; she acquir
es a mystery illness - then a young man is horrendously murdered and she escapes
from house arrest. Marcus Didius Falco is pitted against his old rival, the Chi
ef Spy Anacrites, in a race to find the fugitive before her presence angers the
public and makes the government look stupid. Falco has other priorities, for Hel
ena's brother Justinus has also vanished, perhaps fatefully involved once more w
ith the great lost love of his youth.
