On the remote Roman border, Marius Livonius commands a detachment of seasoned soldiers. Stationed near the Danube River and living near violent Germanic tribes, his military life is consumed with the potential of savagery from menacing barbarians near his peaceful village.

But something else lurks in the dark woods of Germania. Citizens and soldiers are coming up missing, and what is moving towards the Roman frontier may prove more dangerous than the common threat of lethal forest clans.

To confront and destroy his adversaries, Marius discovers he must make a choice between family and the potential slaughter of his people at the hands of a malignant and wicked enemy. Worse, if his tortured decision proves to be wrong, the future of the entire civilized world may be at mortal risk.