On a cold January evening in 50 BC, two strangers enter Rome One is an Egyptian ambassador, the other a eunuch priest Both are seeking Gordianus the Finder, who has a reputation for solving murders But the ambassador, a philosopher named Dio, asks for something that Gordianus cannot give - help in staying alive Before the night is out, he is brutally assassinated Now Gordianus begins the most dangerous case of his career Hired by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation to investigate Dio's murder, he will follow a trail of intrigue into the highest circles of political power and the city's secret arenas of debauchery There Gordianus will learn that nothing is as it seems - not the damning evidence he discovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio's death, which also lies shrouded in secrets - not of the state, but of the heart