The year is 63 BC, and Gordianus the Finder unexpectedly achieves the dream of every Roman - a farm in the Etruscan countryside Vowing to leave behind the corruption and intrigue of Rome, he abandons the city, taking his family with him His lifetime patron, Cicero, has also achieved the dream of his lifetime - a much coveted consulship Urgently, he requests a favour of Gordianus his help in keeping watch on a radical populist senator, Catilina, suspected of conspiring against the state Against his will, Gordianus finds himself drawn ever deeper into a web of deceit, intrigue and murder